The Children of Jirachi
by orangeshoelaces
Summary: Human Pokemon story. Mark Diamond was a normal Pokemon trainer until his Leafeon evolved into a young girl and he decided to compete in the secret tournament exclusive to human Pokemon. Includes violence, blood, language and suggestive themes
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. This story, like several others of its kind was inspired by various human Pokémon/pokemorph/gijinka/moemon/whatever you call it pictures floating around in various areas of the internet.

Prologue

The cave had many names. Its name had changed several times as explorers and trainers alike delved deeper and deeper inside, exposing its secrets. However, not all of those secrets had been found. Only Pokémon had ever reached past the first five levels. The problem was; it kept going.

The oldest name had been the Unknown Dungeon. It was a fitting name, that warned the very few that dared enter of the vast number of secrets it held. The more recent name, meant to make the cave seem like something approachable, was the Cerulean Cave, so picked because of the cave's close vicinity to Cerulean City, in the northern Kanto region.

Much time had passed since the first bold trainers entered, to find Pokémon possessing strength beyond their imagining. However, the cave remained a place of limitless possibility. No one knew where it ended. Some even wanted it to go on forever, a bottomless pit of vast potential.

But it did have an end.

On the very bottom level, the Pokémon known as Mewtwo kept himself hidden away from the humans he despised. The humans that had made him into the monster that he was.

Down, in the near total darkness, Mewtwo meditated and honed his psychic abilities until he was certain that he could defeat any Pokémon, or human for that matter, with little more than a thought.

And yet, it still wasn't enough. There was more power that he could obtain, he knew it. He had travelled the world dozens of times over and had been both shocked and exhilarated to find that there was one other that was stronger than he. There was one that some called the God of Pokémon, Arceus.

And now, after years of painstaking study and meditation, Mewtwo was ready.

Seated in the center of a lonely, isolated rock, surrounded by water, in the farthest corner of the Unknown Dungeon, Mewtwo gathered his thoughts and sharpened them, reaching out for the God of Pokémon that had abandoned him.

He reached skyward, probing past the sky and beyond the veil of stars that separated the whole of existence from something more. And in the darkness beyond the stars, Mewtwo found what he was looking for.

_At last_, Mewtwo directed his thoughts at the entity that watched him. Slowly, Mewtwo opened his eyes, perfectly able to hold the psychic connection in place, without faltering.

The Unknown Dungeon was gone, replaced with a black void that slowly lit up before him. One by one, stars winked into being. Billions upon billions of tiny, insignificant little lights that together formed a single mass.

The whole of the universe seemed miniscule before Mewtwo's gaze. By just barely turning his head, he could see stretched out before him every planet, star, constellation, and galaxy all swirling together in a perfectly tuned harmony, a simple, delicate piece of art crafted by forces unknown to any. And yet, the psychic strand that linked Mewtwo back to his solid location on Earth still burned white-hot, pointing out what was nothing more than a speck that wasn't even visible.

Briefly, Mewtwo held out his white, three-fingered hand and swept over the vision before him, as if to brush the whole of existence away, like so much dust on a table.

_**Mewtwo**_, the voice of Arceus did not come from one single location, _**I knew you'd come one day**_. The voice was emotionless, flat and uncaring. It reminded Mewtwo of the scientists that ripped him away from his mother.

_Tell me, Arceus_, Mewtwo sneered, _they say you are the God of Pokémon, is there any truth in that claim?_

_**It was not a claim that I made, Mewtwo**__, _Arceus replied without faltering, _**I have created much, that is true. But I never called myself a God.**_

_And did you create me_? Mewtwo asked, already knowing it to be true.

_**Of course**_, Arceus answered, _**your life is just as precious as all others. And I care for your life just as much as any other. **_

_Then you saw what happened to me_, Mewtwo snapped back, _you knew what was happening and you did nothing!_

Mewtwo's rage grew as he considered what was before him. The God of Pokémon that had stood idly by while he suffered at the hands of creatures that were weaker than he. Creatures that abused his brethren, enslaving them and forcing them to fight one another for some pathetic form of imagined glory. How could a being of such power allow something like that?

_**I did**_, Arceus's booming voice remained unfeeling, _**I saw everything, as I see everything happening now. But you do not. Even with the power you possess, you still do not see. You are trapped. And this is where you've come for answers. **_

The god was playing games, Mewtwo was certain of it. It admitted to seeing what was happening, yes, but it still hid something. More secrets, more riddles, more lies…there would be no end to it.

_I_ _didn't come here to beg for answers from you_, Mewtwo lashed out, sending waves of psychic energy rippling through the illusion of space-time around him, seeking the God of Pokémon somewhere in that abyss. But he might as well have been striking at smoke.

_**The answers lie within you, Mewtwo**_, the voice of Arceus came back, unperturbed by Mewtwo's failed assault, _**you already possess the answer to every question you could ask. You need only search within yourself. I have faith, in you.**_

_You are weak, Arceus_, Mewtwo would get nothing but petty lies and deceit from this creature. So much power was being wasted. Arceus could smite the entirety of humanity and wipe the slate clean and start again. Yet it did nothing and let its fellow Pokémon suffer while the humans ruled. Pathetic. What good was a God that didn't help its creation? Mewtwo had come here for nothing.

Suddenly, the connection broke and Mewtwo's eyes opened back in the bottom level of the Unknown Dungeon, an entire plane of existence away.

He screamed, in anguished rage and began tearing apart the cave itself with his psychic powers. He tore down walls and hurled boulders the size of buildings, without lifting a finger.

Then, at last, Mewtwo saw clearly what he must do. He remembered with perfect clarity what must be the key to his future.

Laughing, Mewtwo burst skyward through the ceiling of the Unknown Dungeon. There was work to do. Once again, he was excited by the thrill of what was coming, and he was ready for it. The game had begun.

* * *

><p>AN: thanks for reading the prologue. this obviously isn't the true start to this story, just a little teaser of things to come in the later chapters. if you like it so far, I encourage you to keep going, the next few chapters (most notably chapters 4 and 5) will give a better idea of what the whole story is going to be about<p>

review if you like and I hope you keep reading!


	2. From Pokemon to Human

Chapter 1

Just east of Ecruteak City, the Pokémon trainer Mark Diamond trained with his Leafeon. The Leafeon was his favorite of all Pokémon and he had adoringly nicknamed it Maple.

Born in the Sinnoh region, Mark had been obsessed with Pokémon since he was very small. At his first opportunity, at the age of thirteen, Mark obtained his Pokémon License. He traveled around the region training and collecting badges and even competing in a few tournaments. He was a talented trainer, but would need much more training before he would be strong enough to be able to make a name for himself.

While traveling, Mark became especially interested in the Pokémon known as Eevee. Able to evolve into a wide variety of Pokémon, Eevee represented endless possibilities. In fact, at the age of fourteen, just one year after beginning his travels, Mark had become a trainer specialized in the evolutions of Eevee.

It was through his time as an Eevee trainer that he raised Maple. His first and only Leafeon, Mark had raised Maple from a newly hatched Eevee into his strongest Pokémon in just two short years. Those two years of traveling the world and training Maple had been the best two years of his life. Now, at sixteen years of age, he was ready for more.

"Watch it, Maple!" Mark warned spotting another Raticate edging towards the clearing, "Here comes another one!" The first Raticate that Maple had defeated, rather easily, was scurrying back into the underbrush. It was bruised and beaten, but mostly okay.

The Leafeon at Mark's side snapped to attention, its ears perked up and its tail went rigid as it straightened, preparing for the next battle.

Suddenly, the new foe took notice of the Leafeon that had defeated its brother. It too snapped to attention, standing up straight, ready to defend itself.

"Go get it, Maple," Mark ordered. The Leafeon gave a chirp of agreement and dashed towards its target. The Raticate was a full hundred meters away, not close enough for Maple to strike quickly. It had no time to react when the Raticate suddenly darted out, moving like a rocket.

The Quick Attack struck a direct hit on Maple, stopping its charge and knocking it back.

"Maple!" Mark cried out, "You okay, girl?" Shaking its head from the shock of the blow, the Leafeon stood up and chirped an affirmative before turning back to the battle.

"It's okay," Mark told himself calmly, "it's just a wild Raticate, nothing special. Use Leaf Blade!" At the command, Maple's tail went completely rigid and the edges of the leaf-like tail began to gleam in the mid-morning sunlight. Her tail sharpened to a sword-like edge.

Maple rushed at the Raticate, spinning around as she swiped at it with her tail. It managed to dodge the first attack, but it had no time before the second struck it on its side, sending it rolling along the ground, badly injured, but still able to fight.

"Pretty tough for a wild one…" Mark admired the Rat Pokémon, a little bit. Maple was so well-trained that few wild Pokémon ever lasted beyond one Leaf Blade, Maple's strongest attack.

Angered, the Raticate charged back, snapping at Maple with the huge incisors that were each half the size of Mark's forearm. Panicked, Maple dodged left and right, but couldn't find an opening to strike back.

"Hang in there, Maple!" Mark tried his best to sound encouraging, "It's starting to get tired! Just a little bit more!" He helplessly watched Maple dodge the Hyper Fang attack, hoping that those teeth wouldn't hit Maple. She could take it, but he still hated seeing her get hurt, something that had made him hesitate every time he used her in a battle. But she had to train, that was just how the world of Pokémon worked.

At last, the Raticate tired and had to pull back into a defensive position. But it was out of breath and barely able to keep going. Mark even felt a little sorry for it when he gave the command to Maple, to hit it with one last Leaf Blade. Bruised and battered even worse than the first Raticate, it nevertheless got up and scurried away into the underbrush.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mark rushed over and hugged Maple. He stroked her and held her close, letting her lick his cheek in celebration. He scratched behind her ear, rewarding her for two very well-fought battles.

"Come on," Mark smiled at his Pokémon, "let's see what else we can find for you to fight…" Mark suddenly stopped and stared at Maple. Something strange was happening.

The familiar white glow, which usually meant a Pokémon evolution, was starting around Maple's silhouette. The glow kept growing, creeping over Maple's entire body, wrapping it in pure white light. Maple's body began changing, her legs and arms lengthened, hair stretched out from the back of her head, and her entire body seemed to grow in size.

Mark was stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening. He had never heard of or seen anything like this. He had watched Pokémon evolve many times, but Leafeon didn't evolve, he was certain of that. And yet, right in front of him, Maple, his favorite Pokémon, was evolving. Suddenly, he had a strange thought that this was going to be the start of something awful.

When the white light faded, what sat where a Leafeon had once been was what appeared to be a young girl, roughly sixteen years old. She had large, brown eyes, slightly pale skin, which looked very smooth, and pale blond hair. She wore only a simple, tan colored dress that didn't cling to her body too tightly, but still showed off her curves. The dress reached down to just a few centimeters above her knees.

There were only three things that seemed odd about her. The first was that, instead of having human ears, the ears of a Leafeon poked out from the top of her head. A few dozen strands of green hair remained in her bangs, sticking up the way it did on a Leafeon. She also retained the tail of a Leafeon, which her dress flowed around, extending from her tailbone.

She smiled pleasantly at the dumbfounded Mark, for a few seconds, before opening her mouth. Instead of human words coming out, the chittering sound of a Leafeon replaced them.

Still too stunned to even blink, Mark continued to stare wide-eyed at what appeared to be his Leafeon, as a girl, that was his age. He watched in total disbelief as the girl suddenly lost interest in him and started to sniff at the ground around where he stood.

Maple walked on all fours, her head bent low to the ground in an effort to get the best scent of whatever it was she was looking for. She wore no shoes, but this didn't seem to bother her. She circled around Mark several times before giving up and stopping to sit right in front of him. She attempted to scratch at her ear with her right leg, but found that she couldn't quite reach it in the same way she could when she was a Leafeon.

The first thought that Mark remembered having after Maple had "evolved" was a strange mix of emotions. While she had been circling him, Mark accidentally caught a view of her plain, white cotton underwear beneath her dress. That seemed to give two reactions, one of keen interest and curiosity, another of embarrassment and shame. He wasn't sure which one felt stronger…

Either way, it was the first thought that slowly got his mind working again. Looking down at the girl happily sitting at his feet, he thought carefully about what to do next.

"Maple?" he tried tentatively, as if afraid of what the response might be. The girl responded by perking her ears up, smiling happily and making another pleasant chirping sound.

Mark sighed. The girl in front of him was definitely Maple. But what had happened? He had been around Pokémon his entire life and not once had he heard of a Pokémon turning into a human. What could that mean?

"Umm…come on," Mark turned away and motioned for Maple to follow him, "let's get back to the Pokémon Center." Maple tweeted happily again, before obediently following her trainer, still walking on all fours.

_What the hell is going on?_ Mark thought.

* * *

><p>When the Pokémon Center was in sight, about an hour's walk, Mark stopped. He realized that he was afraid of what might happen if someone saw Maple. There would be questions, a lot of questions that Mark wasn't prepared to deal with. He needed answers, and time to think about what to do. But, he couldn't just leave Maple outside. He couldn't leave Maple alone, at all.<p>

Thinking hard, he peered down at the girl patiently sitting on the ground, calmly waving her tail back and forth. If she were standing on two legs then she just might be mistaken for someone wearing a costume. A very realistic costume that could wag its tail and make sounds like the real thing, but a costume nevertheless.

Deciding that it was worth a shot, Mark tried to tell Maple to stand. Her response was to tilt her head slightly and make a dismayed tweeting sound. Giving up, Mark reached down, took Maple's hands, and lifted her onto her feet.

Maple's eyes widened in disbelief and she looked around slowly, taking in the new vantage point. She was just six centimeters shorter than Mark, but her ears extended another three above his head. She was amazed to discover that she could be so high up.

"Do you think you can walk like this?" Mark tried, releasing her hands. At first, she didn't respond and Mark wondered if she understood what he was saying, but after a few seconds, Maple nodded.

"Okay," Mark sighed, "One step at a time." Mark moved along with her, ready to catch her in case she should lose her balance and fall.

Wobbling a bit, Maple took her first steps on two legs. However, she adjusted quickly to the new method of movement. Grinning widely, she took longer and longer strides. Gaining confidence, she picked up speed.

She burst forth, sprinting ahead towards the Pokémon Center. Mark heard her cheer with that same Leafeon chittering noise as she ran. She was happy. For all of the confusion that Mark felt about what was happening, he was definitely glad that she was happy.

Maple skidded to a halt. She looked back across the distance that she had covered. She had run at least a hundred yards in just a few seconds, and she wasn't at all tired. But that wasn't the problem. She looked down at her hand, then back at Mark, as he walked towards her. She ran back, immediately.

To Mark's relief, the lobby of the Pokémon center was deserted, except for one other trainer. His back was turned as he sat, reading, at a table in the far corner of the lobby. He wore a short-sleeved jacket that was burnt-orange in color, with two brown horizontal blotches, in the center. Underneath that was a long-sleeved white shirt. He also wore black jean-shorts with yellow and brown sneakers. However, Mark paid no attention to him and instead went directly to the attendant at the desk.

"Are there any rooms available?" Mark did his best not to seem nervous as Maple stared around the Pokémon Center in wide-eyed amazement at all of the new sights her new body let her experience.

Every Pokémon Center was required to have at least a few small guest rooms and a kitchen attached to the main treatment center, for travelers. However, it was fairly common to find all of the rooms to be occupied.

"Yes, there are," the receptionist replied cheerfully, "will you be staying the night?"

"Yeah," Mark nodded. He paid as quickly as possible, offering cash instead of a card.

"Alright," the receptionist typed briefly on her computer before opening a drawer of her desk and handing Mark a plastic card, "here's your key. Room four. And would you like any of your Pokémon healed?"

"Uh…" Mark hesitated, realizing that Maple was probably still a little tired and hurt after their training session, but he had no idea how they would even treat Maple if she was human, "no, that's okay." Trying to be as quick as possible, Mark took the key and paid the receptionist, who was starting to eye Maple suspiciously.

"There you are, you son of a bitch!" Mark and Maple both jumped in surprise when a female voice broke the silence around them. Mark turned to see a girl, who was probably in her early twenties, standing just a few feet behind him and looking over at the other trainer that had been sitting in the corner.

"What?" the trainer sitting at the table pushed back and snapped his book shut. He stretched and cracked his neck before standing up. He looked like he was in his late teens, younger than the girl, but older than Mark and Maple.

"Why weren't you in the room?" the girl demanded, "I thought something had happened to you?" She stomped over to him, presumably to yell directly in his face.

"What could happen?" the boy scoffed, "I can take care of myself just fine." Once he was standing up, Mark saw what he had missed before. The boy had a long, thin, black tail that ended in a bright yellow lightning bolt. His brown and yellow ears were a strange elongated crescent moon shape and they curled up at the ends. The boy had the ears and tail of a Raichu.

"I-" the boy stopped when he noticed Maple, "hey, Kimmy, we are not alone." He grinned and nodded towards Maple. The girl turned, and also grinned.

"Oh, hi," Kimmy said, a little embarrassed.

"Hi," Mark said, even more embarrassed, "uh…what's going on? Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry," Kimmy flushed before motioning to herself and then to the Raichu-boy, "My name's Kim, or Kimmy, whichever, and this is Volt. He's a bit of a jerk, but decent enough all the same." She ignored Volt's protest and continued, "What're your names?"

"Uh…I'm Mark and this is…" still suspicious, Mark didn't answer right away, but Maple chirped, making the secretary look around for the source of the noise, "this is Maple." Kim's grin faded a little bit as she thought over something.

"Oh, okay," understanding dawned on Kim, "so, she's just in Stage One?"

"Stage One of what?" Mark asked, eager for answers, "do you know what's happening to her?" He looked over to see Maple trying, in vain, to lick the back of her hand in order to wash herself, much like a cat.

"Yep, definitely Stage One," Kim nodded, "Well, since you seem totally clueless, I'm guessing you never knew about this."

"What gave it away?" Mark snapped as he tried to convince Maple to stop trying.

"No need to get snippy," Kim countered, "Pretty much everybody that has one goes through the same thing, the first time. One day, you're training with your favorite Pokémon and suddenly it evolves, and turns into this. She's not quite human and she's not quite a Pokémon. Go ahead and train with her if you want. She still has all of her abilities, and she's stronger than your whole team combined, I guarantee it."

"Yeah, that's great and all," Mark gave up and let Maple figure it out for herself, "but what do I do to help her? Will she be able to talk like your Raichu over there?"

"Well, hopefully she'll be more polite than Volt," she, once again, ignored Volt's protests, "but, yeah, it doesn't take that long to adjust."

"I'm sorry," Mark sighed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed, "this is all new to me. Pokémon evolving into humans seems, I don't know…weird."

"Yeah, it is," Kim sighed, "But it's cool, too. You'll see what I mean. The first day is the worst. She'll be able to talk and everything within just three days. And then, it'll be like making a new best friend. Somebody that was your best friend even before you thought that they could be." Kim's smile broadened more and more as she spoke, remembering her own experience.

"Anyway," Kim shook her head, "we're on our way to a tournament being held on Himitsu Island. A tournament just for human Pokémon. If you wanna learn more about what's happening to Maple, that's the place. There's a ship leaving from Olivine City in two weeks. You got all that?"

"Yeah," Mark nodded, "a tournament on Himitsu Island. I'll be there."

"Good," Kim nodded, "we'll see you there!" She waved as she and Volt headed for the door.

"Wait," Mark called, "you're not gonna help me with Maple?" He still had doubts about how he was going to take care of Maple by himself, for two more days.

"Sorry," Kim's grin was far too broad for Mark's liking, "consider it a bonding experience. Just keep her out of her Pokéball and she'll be fine in just two days. You'll look back on this and laugh!" Kim kept waving as she followed Volt out of the Pokémon Center, heading west towards Olivine City.

Mark looked back to find Maple back onto all fours, contentedly sitting on the floor, making chirping noises. The receptionist stared blankly at him.

"I'm guessing that you didn't know about this, either," Mark shrugged.

The receptionist nodded, slowly.

"Learn something new every day, huh?" He tried to laugh, but it sounded hollow, "come on, Maple. Taking care of you like this for a few days shouldn't be too hard." Maple sprang to her feet, still looking around in wonder.

* * *

><p>AN: this is the true start to the story. so, we've got pokemon evolving into humans and a secret tournament on a just as secret island. everybody loves a good tournament, right?<p> 


	3. A Bonding Experience

Chapter 2

The first day was, by far, the worst. The fact that Maple was still more like a Leafeon than a person didn't help anything. She had an intense curiosity about absolutely everything and she investigated absolutely everything as thoroughly as Mark would let her.

At first, Maple seemed content with rubbing her bare feet along the carpet. She bent down on all fours, again, and rubbed it lovingly. She had seen and felt carpet when she had been a Leafeon, but Mark decided that she was still getting used to her new body. The touch of her skin against something must've felt completely different. He sat down on the bed closest to the window and sat watching her, wondering what it was like.

When Maple grew bored with the carpet, about twenty minutes later, she moved to investigate the unoccupied bed. She pulled all of the sheets off it at once, and buried herself, letting out a surprised yip. After a few seconds, the pile of sheets began to move and a lump appeared in the center and began searching for the edges. A moment later, Maple emerged, shaking her head and sneezing the dust away.

Mark smiled as he watched her. So much of how she acted reminded him of a kitten. She was adorable to watch as she explored her new world.

Maple rubbed her hands and face against the sheets, once again taking in the sensation. She tried licking it, but it proved to be a bad idea. She grimaced and coughed a few times before tossing away the sheets in a small hissy fit.

She moved towards the bed itself, peering at the mattress. She poked at it a few times, but nothing more. Then she discovered the pillow. At first, she simply held it tight against her body, delighting in the wonderful softness of it, but then she saw a loose thread on it. She tugged on it gently at first then became mesmerized as it started to unravel.

"Hey," Mark didn't realize what was happening until Maple had a foot-long thread stretched out in front of her, "what the hell are you doing?" He darted over to her and snatched the pillow out of her hands before she could cause any more damage. The pillow was still intact, but a good portion of the trim around its edges was transformed into a single three-foot long piece of string.

Mark looked down at Maple and couldn't help but feel awful. Maple had a strange look in her big, brown eyes, a mixture of shock, fear and shame. She was on the verge of tears.

"No, no, no, no," Mark stammered, bending down to the floor, with Maple, "I'm sorry. It's just that this'll fall apart if you keep doing that. Then we won't have it to sleep on." This didn't help much. Maple didn't really understand why the fluffy thing was going to fall apart just by taking off the string.

"Look, I'm really sorry," Mark tried again, "but you're gonna just have to trust me a little on this. Can you do that?"

Maple nodded, wiping her eyes clear of the water that had started to form there. Everything felt so new. She had seen it all before, but being human made exploring so much more enjoyable. The problem was that Mark didn't want her to explore everything. She didn't know what to think.

"Okay," Mark sighed, "I'm gonna go get some food. Can you wait right here, until I get back?" Again, Maple nodded. It seemed to make Mark happier when she nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, Mark returned from the small kitchen of the Pokémon Center, with a few sandwiches in a paper bag, to find Maple exploring an electrical socket. She was completely entranced by the strange holes in the wall and had been poking at them with her fingers. As Mark was entering the room, she decided it was safe enough to try licking it.

"NO!" Mark yelled, tossing the food aside and rushing forward. He wrapped his arms around Maple's waist, and yanked her backwards. The girl in his arms started to thrash, panicked by the assault. Suddenly, her tail went rigid and Mark had a split second to realize what was happening.

He dropped Maple and dodged out of the way. Maple's tail sliced clean through the wooden desk chair, slicing a diagonal cut that split the back of the chair in half. A second later, the wood tumbled away, onto the floor.

"Holy..." Mark breathed, staring fixedly at the chair. Maple was on her feet, also staring at what she had done. Both of them stared at the chair for fourteen or fifteen seconds, before simultaneously turning their heads to look at each other. Maple's ears drooped and she sank back to the floor, ashamed of what she had done.

"Umm…yeah," Mark spoke slowly, still comprehending what had happened. It must have been her Leaf Blade. That meant that she still had all of her abilities from when she was a Leafeon, just as Kim had said. He hadn't realized it at the time, but if there was a tournament going to be held…

Mark shook his head. There would be plenty of time to worry about things like that later on. He had more immediate problems.

"Uhh…" Mark searched for the forgotten sandwich bag, "here. You and uhh…me, well, both of us, really, ought to eat something." He pulled out a ham sandwich for each of them and held Maple's out for her. Cautiously, she sniffed at it, afraid of what it could do.

"It's okay," Mark did his best to sound cheerful, "you're supposed to eat it." Maple's hands shot out and grasped the sandwich. Mark sat down on the edge of the bed and started to eat his sandwich, hoping that he could convince Maple to at least try it.

She sniffed at it a bit more and then finally nibbled on the bread a bit. She didn't seem to have much of a reaction one way or another. Taking the top layer of bread off, she examined the rest of the sandwich.

Recognizing the lettuce, she quickly gobbled it down, smiling at the taste. The slice of tomato took a bit more examination, but she ate that too, licking the sticky juices off of her fingers. However, the ham presented an issue, and she discarded it after sniffing at it and recoiling. She casually threw the ham behind her, paying no attention when it stuck to the wall, and she turned her attention back to the bread.

"A vegetarian, huh?" Mark couldn't help but laugh as the slice of ham slid down the wall. Maple looked up sharply, her ears perking up, when he started laughing. After a moment she started to giggle along with him, despite the fact that she had no idea what he was laughing at.

Sighing, Mark sat back and watched Maple nibble at the sandwich. He wondered about what was happening to her. Kim had said that she would be as human as Volt in just two more days. She had also mentioned that putting her back in her Pokéball would slow the process. That, and Maple's sudden display of power, suggested that Maple was, for all intents and purposes, still a Pokémon.

On the other hand, the way Volt had acted he had seemed more like a person than a Pokémon. He could talk coherently and he had even been reading when Mark first saw him.

There were still so many questions, and right then the only way to get answers would be to just wait and see what happened to Maple. If she didn't accidentally kill him first, that was.

Fortunately, the rest of the day passed in relative peace. Maple explored less and listened to Mark more readily. Instead, she stayed close to Mark, rubbing against his legs like a cat.

At first, Mark thought it was cute, but as it went on, it rapidly became more and more awkward. It had been fairly common for Maple to show affection this way when she was a Leafeon, but as a sixteen-year old girl, it felt completely different. At one point, he absent-mindedly stroked her hair, exactly as he would have the day before. The human hair that he stroked was soft and silky. It felt very soothing and pleasant against his hand…

He jerked back, as if stung, but Maple didn't seem to notice and continued rubbing her cheek against his leg. Mark sprang to his feet and went to the other side of the room, feeling awkward and somehow dirty. Maple stared after him, bewildered. She made a small, scared, cooing sound; as if afraid he would leave entirely.

Mark kept his distance, after that; strategically thinking of some excuse to move away whenever she came close to him. What was he supposed to do? He didn't know which was worse, Maple destroying things out of curiosity or seeking attention and coming so close that he could feel the warmth of her now human body.

The hours passed agonizingly slow. For their dinner, Mark tried giving Maple a full salad. She ignored the utensils he had given her, aside from examining which one was the sharpest. However, Mark had planned ahead. For once, the dull plastic utensils proved to be useful and Maple found it near impossible to cut anything. Which was fine by her, and she tossed them aside with about the same amount of care as she had shown the ham.

So, she took to eating the salad with her hands. She carefully examined each new vegetable or differently shaped leaf by sniffing, licking and finally eating it. She ate it piece by piece, delighting in the variety of new tastes.

When she was done, Mark handed her an open bottle of water, and immediately regretted doing so. Maple tried sticking her tongue through the small opening to lap up the water but found it impossible and also painful. Instead, she tried pouring some out and lapping at it as it fell. That worked, but Mark had a less than positive reaction at the amount of water that landed on the carpet.

"Okay, that was my fault," Mark admitted as he capped up the water. He had placed a towel on the puddle to soak it up and was trying to think of an alternative. He pulled a thermos out of his pack and unscrewed the lid. He decided that a cup had better odds. He poured the remainder of the bottle into the lid so that it was filled to the top and handed that to Maple.

Once again, Maple cautiously examined the new object by sniffing at it and poking it. She found the water inside, but holding the cup in her hands didn't feel right. She placed it on the ground and bent her head forward over the bowl. It would've worked if her long hair hadn't fallen down and into the water. Dismayed, she sat back and began to whine.

"Oh, come on," Mark teased, "It's not that hard. See?" He lifted the cup, in his hands, and held it for Maple to see. He wasn't quite sure why he did it, but he found himself bending forward to lap at the water with his own tongue. He could've taught Maple to drink like normal, but maybe that would have been too much right then.

Maple stared with intense interest. It made so much sense!

Mark handed back the cup and watched as Maple imitated what he had done. Delighted over her success, she started lapping up the water quicker and quicker. Mark was even amazed that she successfully figured out how to tilt the cup to bring the water closer.

Was she actually getting smarter? He hadn't really noticed any big changes, but as he thought about it, maybe she was. After all, she had stopped trying to scratch and lick herself and she used her hands more readily all the time. Those were definitely good signs. On the other hand, she still made Leafeon noises and seemed to prefer moving on all fours as opposed to two feet.

Still, Mark had noticed progress and he was clinging to the hope that it meant something. He supposed the day hadn't gone half as bad as it could have. Aside from a broken chair, a partially unraveled pillow and a wet spot on the carpet, there wasn't any damage done. He actually found himself wondering how bad the damage could have been if Maple could, say, shoot fire or call down lightning bolts.

He smiled to himself. He had gotten lucky with Maple.

Maple became a lot less active once the sun went down. Mark remembered that Leafeon were active almost exclusively during the daylight, so that must've affected her.

She picked a spot to herself between the two beds and laid down, testing different positions for comfort. At one point, she started chasing her tail, which abruptly ended when she smacked her head against the bed. Rubbing the spot in pain, Maple started to whimper, fighting back tears.

"Oww…" Mark winced in sympathy, "that sounded like it hurt. Let me see." He bent down on the floor next to Maple and examined the spot where she bumped her head.

"It's okay, don't cry," Mark gently wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes with a tissue he grabbed off of the nightstand, "it might be black and blue, but that's all. You're fine." After hearing the diagnosis, Maple brightened up immediately and tackled Mark with a hug. He almost didn't catch himself in time to keep from hitting his own head against the night stand.

Once more aware of how much like a girl Maple had become, Mark permitted her to nuzzle against him for only a few more seconds before the strangeness of the moment made him withdraw.

"Here," Mark hastily motioned, "the bed's a lot safer. No accidents on the bed." He patted it for emphasis and Maple's confused look vanished as she sprang up on top of it. She paced back and forth on it a few times before selecting a spot to lie on, resuming what she had begun on the floor. Mark sat on the bed across from her and watched.

After another twenty minutes of trying various positions, Maple decided that lying on her side worked best. She curled up, tucking her legs against her and resting her head on top of her hands. Her tail curled against the back of her legs. Gradually, she closed her large, brown eyes, half-blinking in the manner of a cat. She was asleep in just another few minutes.

"Bed time, huh?" Mark said to himself, "yeah, it's been a long day." It was just a little bit after 8:30 when Mark pulled a blanket over Maple, shut off the lights, and also went to sleep. Drained from the day, he felt like he could sleep for days. As he fell asleep, he could hear Maple breathing softly in the next bed.

* * *

><p>AN: not a lot going on in this chapter, i realize. still, a clean evolution from pokemon to human didn't make much sense to me.<p>

also, in case you missed it, i opted for a world with normal animals along with Pokemon (mostly because i didn't want to have to explain exactly what Pokemon they're eating in their sandwiches) o_O


	4. In the Dark

Chapter 3

The horrible screams reverberating down the dark, empty hallways were nothing new to Cal's ears. True, he wasn't particularly used to the voices being female, but in some ways, he enjoyed it more. As he passed the room where the screams were emanating from, he glanced in through the glass.

Inside there was a small team of scientists, wearing white lab coats and masks, crowded around a figure strapped down to a metal operating table. The figure could not move, aside from tossing her muzzled head back and forth, because her arms and legs were held in place by leather straps, held down by steel cable, which pulled tight against her. It wouldn't do to have a second one escape. No, that would be far too messy.

The woman wasn't quite human and wasn't quite a Pokémon. But, she also wasn't what Cal kept sealed within the Pokéballs he had attached to his belt, either. She was once an Arcanine, which was far more evident than any true human Pokémon Cal had ever seen. Being trapped between two worlds was causing her unimaginable agony and Cal was surprised at her incredible resistance to the tranquilizers.

She was human in form, but Cal had no reason to think that this one would be any different from any of the other failures. There was still fur all over her body, for one thing. Worse yet, she still had paws! Cal was even willing to bet that her teeth were all still sharp.

Despite the disappointment, he still casually nodded at the head researcher, as he passed. The head researcher was a pathetic, coward of a man who had been insisting for months that he was making progress. Cal halfway hoped that the muzzle on that Arcanine would come loose and the researcher would feel a little bit of that Arcanine's pain. Well, more than a little...

Still, Cal had bigger concerns. After all, he was on his way to see the man in charge.

Coming to a single doorway, at the end of the hall, Cal placed his hand on the scanner and tapped his foot as he waited. At last, an electronic ding sounded and the door permitted him access.

"Cal," the cold, impassive voice whispered, before the door was even finished opening, "come in. Let's hear your report."

"Thank you, sir," Cal did as he was told. The room was sparsely furnished with nothing more than the desk that the man sat at and a single, hard-backed chair. It gave the impression that whoever worked here had no intention of staying for long. The man who did had his chair turned away from Cal, as if he were staring at something special on the blank, windowless wall that no one else could see. Or even begin to comprehend.

Cal took a few steps forward, his footsteps echoing more in the small, dark office than they did in the hallway. He had been in this man's presence many times, but he still retained that same instinctual fear that told him to run. As if the man might suddenly turn and strike him in the head with something hard and metallic. But Cal knew that that would never happen. This man could destroy him without lifting a finger. Why would he bother to waste his time on somebody like Cal?

"Is everything ready for this year's tournament?" the cold voice asked.

"Yes, sir," Cal spoke quickly, yet confidently, "everything's ready. We have agents ready to compete, as well as a base of operations with adequate space for storage. I will also be among the competitors to ensure everything goes smoothly."

"Very well, good work," It was rare to hear a compliment from this man, and Cal sighed with relief at those words, "just remember what your role is. Observe and collect data. Do not draw any attention. If you are discovered, I will personally handle any damage done to this organization. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," once again, Cal was quickly on edge, "I won't let you down. You have my word, sir."

"As reassuring as your word is," the voice mocked, "I still don't trust it. As such, I'm sending Farin to oversee the operation. He will take on an assumed name and compete alongside you."

"Farin, sir?" Cal thought about what he knew about the administrator and couldn't see why his presence was even going to be helpful. Farin was fourth in command, yet whenever Cal met him, he was always lazy and disinterested. What use was there for someone like that? How could someone like that lead one of the most important missions this team had ever faced?

"Do you question my judgment?" The cold voice snapped Cal back to where he was. And there was still no emotion in that voice, not even a hint. He could kill Cal without a second thought and show no more feeling than if he had killed a mosquito.

"No, sir," Cal corrected himself, "I will do my absolute best to assist him. We will not let you down."

"Good," Cal breathed a sigh of relief, sensing that this meeting was over, "and Cal, on your way out. See that the failure is put down."

"Yes, sir," Cal turned on his heel, back towards the door.

"The researcher," the impassive voice added, as an afterthought, "not the Arcanine. Her we might yet have some use for."

"Good thinking, sir," Cal couldn't help but grin with delight at the order.

"Just be sure everything goes well on Himitsu Island," there was the slightest bit of agitation that made Cal's skin crawl, "the testing can be done on humans, very easily. Remember that."

* * *

><p>Maple's behavior changed, literally, overnight.<p>

Mark woke up a few hours after dawn to see Maple standing in front of their window, staring out into the world outside. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, her tail swaying back and forth. He was amazed to find that she wasn't on all fours sniffing and licking everything, but was just standing there, presumably taking in the sights and sounds of the outdoors. Was her transition over? Was she a complete person, now?

She tapped the glass, experimentally, and Mark couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. _Almost, but not quite_, he thought.

Still, just one day made a world of difference. The changes that had seemed so slight the day before were positively drastic.

Maple stayed upright and refrained from sniffing and licking everything in sight. However, her total sense of wonder and sensory overload remained, as did her insatiable curiosity. Mark also found it odd that she no longer made Leafeon chittering sounds. In fact, she didn't make any noise, which meant she either couldn't, or she refused to. Her need for physical contact had lessened, as well. Mark found himself a little disappointed at this.

At any rate, the key area of interest became the bathroom, on the second day. Mark remained in the doorway as he watched Maple explore.

The mirror was, by far, her favorite new experience. She stood in front of it for what felt, to Mark, like hours. She started with surprisingly girlish acts, like straightening her hair and dress, but she soon degraded to examining her tongue and stretching out her face with her hands, just to see what effect it would have on her image. At one point, Mark watched in awkward silence as Maple turned around and seemed to be examining her butt and tail, in the mirror.

Mark found it interesting to note that she understood that the image in the mirror was herself. The Maple that he had seen the day before probably would have assumed it was another Leafeon-girl. A battle for supremacy would have ensued and a good deal more property damage would have been done, as well.

When she grew bored of the mirror, she started examining the sink. She peered at it for five or ten minutes, screwing up her face in confusion until Mark turned one of the knobs and let cold water flow into it. Understanding dawned and she clasped her hands together in celebration as she watched the water flow. Then, abruptly, Mark shut it off.

Maple twisted her head to stare into Mark's eyes with an intense anger, but then he gestured back to the sink, suggesting that she give it a try. She grasped hold of the hot water handle and, twisting it the wrong way at first, discovered that she could do it, too. However, when she did it, a strange white mist came off of the water. She tested the water with her finger and then jerked back, to keep from getting burned.

Once again, she scowled at Mark as he shut off the water, but he was smiling at her, so, she couldn't stay mad.

After the sink came the shower. This time, Mark had to enter the room in order to slide open the glass door and show Maple how to enter. He also turned on the water and Maple made the connection as to how it was just a bigger version of the sink.

Satisfied, she turned towards the toilet…which Mark steered her away from, back out into the main room. Although he knew that he would probably have to explain it eventually, Mark clung to the possibility that certain things Maple would just _know_, once she was a full person.

After his success with salad on the first day, Mark brought another for Maple around noon. He also decided that he was feeling adventurous enough to see what Maple's reaction would be to something sugary, like, say…soda.

After Maple finished her salad, (she used the fork this time, but the knife remained useless) Mark opened the bottle of soda just enough for her to not have to struggle with it. She grasped the concept much better this time, but she peered at the strangely colored liquid for long moments, her eyes moving back and forth from the drink, to Mark, back to the drink. She tilted her head to the side, as she examined it, as if looking at it from a different angle would make it look more like water. Shrugging, she removed the cap and took a cautionary sip.

Instantly, her eyes widened and she began smacking her lips, staring at the drink in her hands as if it were her new reason for living. She upended the bottle and started guzzling the sweet drink.

"Wait, not too fast-" Mark warned. Too late, Maple swallowed too much at once and started coughing and retching, spilling half of the bottle onto the floor, creating a new wet spot.

Half an hour later, the sugar sent Maple on a wild rampage. She darted from one area of the room to another, unable to sit still. She pushed a few random buttons on the TV, producing no results, before dashing over to flick the lamp on and off once or twice. She rocked what remained of the desk chair back and forth a few times then jumped up and down on a bed for a few seconds.

Maple didn't come down from her sugar high for another two hours. By then, Mark had given up trying to keep her from breaking anything, which it turned out he needn't worry about, anyway. As curious and jittery as Maple was, she was also being very careful. She stopped bouncing from area to area when she managed to locate the POWER button on the TV.

After that, she was transfixed, gazing at the shining screen. She played with the other buttons some more, gradually understanding it bit by bit. She sat with her nose just a few inches away from the screen, mesmerized by the images it made.

Maple remained in front of the TV, channel-surfing without knowing that it was called such, for the rest of the afternoon. She paused at a particular station the longest whenever she saw a Pokémon, on the screen. She came to a stop when she found a tournament being broadcast worldwide.

_A tournament…_ Mark thought. Maple had competed in a few, when she was a Leafeon, but those days were probably over. Tournaments had been what Mark had trained and raised Eevees for just days ago, days that felt like months. Was that still what he did?

He wasn't like other Pokémon trainers, anymore. He wasn't even certain if he was a Pokémon trainer, at all. He had other Pokémon than Maple, of course. Over a hundred waited for him at the ranch that was just a day's journey away. The ranch where Hayley, Jeremiah and Cole helped him raise and sell Eevees to other trainers.

What would they think if he showed them Maple? Would they keep raising and selling Pokémon like livestock if they knew a Pokémon could turn into a human? But why had Maple turned into a human in the first place? Millions of Pokémon and thousands of trainers in the world, and no one knew?

Mark's head hurt. So many questions, and he wouldn't even have time to sort it all out.

He flopped back on the bed, causing Maple to start, in alarm. _A tournament_, he thought about everything he thought he knew about Pokémon. What were they, really? Just small monsters that somebody figured out how to catch, tame, and carry around to be called on at any time? He knew Pokémon did more than fight each other, but it had remained their main use. It was a use that most Pokémon actually seemed to enjoy, as unbelievable as that always seemed. Now there were Pokémon turning into humans, what did that mean?

_A tournament_, Mark pondered it, _figures._

Maple remained oblivious to Mark's worries. He brought her another salad, the only kind that the Pokémon Center had to offer, but no soda. After she practically ripped off the cap, Maple was disappointed to find out that it was just water and her ears drooped, mirroring her sadness.

She stayed glued to the TV screen, much to Mark's relief. He lied down, thinking about what to do. A stop at the ranch on their way to Olivine City would be a good start. After that, just another two day journey and they'd be on their way to Himitsu Island. It occurred to Mark that he had never heard of it.

He wondered what it was like. Would it have new and rare Pokémon that he hadn't seen before? That would certainly make the trip worth it. He and Maple had been in Ecruteak City because he had heard rumors that Raikou, Entei and Suicune had been seen fleeing the Tin Tower.

Raikou, Entei and Suicune were legendary Pokémon of incredible power. They were servants of the Pokémon Ho-oh and thought to be one of a kind. Many believed that they didn't really exist at all.

However, chasing down legendary Pokémon was going to have to wait.

Maple ended up falling asleep on the floor, with the TV still on. She only lasted an hour longer than she had the night before. She curled up in the exact same position as before.

Mark pulled a blanket over her, same as before. He had to admit that he was worried, maybe even scared. But there was something else. Something he had to do. No matter what, he wouldn't abandon Maple.

* * *

><p>AN: and now enters the Team Rocket-esque people. i'll tell you their actual name later. for now, just know that their kinda evil.<p>

btw, this'll be the last chapter with the transition between pokemon to human, for Maple, at least. i might go back to it again, but certainly not in this much detail


	5. A World Yet Undiscovered

Chapter 4

"Pay up," Abe's opponent, some little punk named Vic, snapped, "or do you not have the Pokédollars? I swear, I'm tired of fighting little bitches who don't pay the piper. Now, come on, I beat you. Fork it over, already!"

_So annoying_, Abe thought, but instead he said, "Yeah, yeah, you won. Here's your money; a thousand Pokédollars." He counted the bills in plain sight, showing the brat that he did, indeed, have the Pokédollars.

"Or…" Abe stopped, "would you rather go double or nothing?"

Vic snorted, repressing the urge to laugh in his face, "You're kidding right? Why the hell should I give you another shot? You challenged me. One-on-one, one human Pokémon versus another. I don't even think you have more than one!"

"Well," Abe spoke slowly so the words would sink in better, "I do have one more. But I've heard that Victor Gregory carries three human Pokémon. So, I was wondering if we'd double the stakes and use all of them. Two of yours against one of mine. How's that sound?"

"Heh," Victor snorted, "after how easy one was, I'd be stupid not to take your money. Alright old man, you're on."

_I hate kids_, Abe cursed, _but I don't mind taking their money_. Though only middle-aged, Abe possessed double the amount of experience that Vic did. The only thing that worried him was that most Pokémon Trainers retired early, and as an almost forty year old Pokémon Trainer, it was getting harder and harder to keep a low profile.

At Abe's age, he just wanted to find some place to settle down and spend the rest of his life in peace. But there was very little in Pokémon that offered such a life. Pokémon training was for kids who could live day-to-day, not knowing or caring where their lives were going. They just lived a dream.

Aside from breeding, which Abe hated, the closest thing to a steady job in Pokémon was as a Gym Leader. But, of course, there were only so many gyms in the world. Even as a Gym Leader, every Pokémon battle was a gamble and a bad enough slump could ruin a person.

Still, in the whole world, there was nothing quite like a Pokémon battle.

The two squared off at a hundred meters from each other, again. The first phase had gone well, though Abe could've done without the little bastard rubbing it in so much. Still, his arrogance had made the second phase easier, and Stampede would take care of the rest.

The kid sent out a Typhlosion that looked like a greasy-haired pop-star. He had the ears alright, as well as a tan shirt, jacket and pants that matched the Pokémon's coloring. The only thing that caught Abe's attention was the blazing red-orange fur around the hood of his black jacket. But he was disappointed when he noticed that it was artificial.

Standing in the middle of the dirt road, the Typhlosion didn't look like much of a threat. He was just a skinny kid, about the same age as his trainer, give or take a few years. Vic had called him Inferno or something like that. Abe was unimpressed.

"Stampede," Abe dropped his façade and let his impatience show, casually tossing his Pokéball. After the usual flash of white light, his human Tauros appeared on the road, crouching at first.

He stood up slowly, to a height of 6'5" stretching and cracking his neck. He wore dark brown pants and a sleeveless tan shirt that exposed his well-built muscles. Thick, leather gauntlets stretched up his elbow and a scarf made of buffalo hair adorned his neck. Two horns and three tails extended from his head and tailbone. His hair was wild and unkempt, as if he went through life without knowing it was there until it was long enough to obscure his vision. He bellowed a roar that seemed to shake the ground they stood on and Abe was pleased to watch the Typhlosion and his trainer each take a step back.

"Kids, again?" Stampede growled back at Abe.

"They're easy targets," Abe shrugged.

"Fine," Stampede lowered his head, preparing to charge, "Just make this last awhile. I've been getting bored knocking everything out in the first round."

"You can play once this one's down," Abe reminded him, "I convinced him to give up two thousand. And in exchange, you'll be taking on two of his."

"Not bad," Stampede admitted, "more fun for me."

The kid yelled something about using Flamethrower, but Stampede was off before the order was finished. He charged at the Typhlosion at full speed, closing the distance fast.

"Giga Impact," Abe ordered. Stampede closed the last twenty meters in one burst, unleashing an all-out physical assault while Inferno was still charging his attack. Stampede rammed into his ribcage, headfirst, the horns digging into Inferno's chest, a blow that would've shattered a human's ribcage to bits was reduced to a blow that merely disabled the enemy human Pokémon. The Typhlosion was launched back, spraying fire and blood into the air, crying out in agony.

Inferno landed in a crumpled heap ten meters from Stampede. He shuddered in pain as blood flowed from the stab wounds in his chest and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Yet he still managed to sit up, desperate to obey the order and take his revenge.

His trainer, on the other hand, cried out in horrified alarm, rushing forward and calling out Inferno's name. Abe turned away; one of the few things he hated more than kids was watching them cry.

"_You son of a bitch_!" Vic screamed, to Abe's surprise, he wasn't crying, "_Look what you freaking did_!" Inferno fell unconscious, at the kid's feet.

"He got off easy," Abe shrugged, "a trip to the Pokémon Center and he'll be fine."

"_If he lives that long_!" Vic spat, "_Just who the hell do you think you are_?"

"Look, I've seen a lot worse than that," Abe started to lose patience, "he'll be fine. God kid, you'd think this is the first time you've ever fought with a human Pokémon."

"Fine," the kid grimaced and with a red flash, Inferno disappeared inside his Pokéball, "But you are going to pay for this! Ironclad!" Another flash of white light and the kid's human Skarmory appeared on the field.

The second of Vic's human Pokémon was a bit more impressive to look at. Clad head-to-toe in steel armor, Ironclad clanked and banged as he stood on the battlefield. Mechanical, rather than flesh, blood and bone wings extended from his shoulder blades. Gauntlets decorated with curved blades and spiked metal boots adorned his hands and feet. Only his red eyes were visible through the visor of his curved helmet.

Abe considered his next obstacle. The steel-bird Pokémon was a force to be reckoned with. It was a physical wall that could take a heavy amount of punishment before giving in. This could actually be an interesting match…

"That's more like it," Stampede grinned, seeing the Skarmory.

"_I am going to destroy you_!" Vic was fuming, "_Ironclad, start with Agility_!"

"Geez, kid," Abe sighed, "you have some anger issues, or something."

Creaking, Ironclad spread his wings and then suddenly shot into the air, much faster than he appeared capable of moving. About ten meters off the ground, it moved lazily at first, Skarmory was never built for speed, but after a second, Ironclad started moving almost double-fast as Agility kicked in.

Stampede was still too tired from Giga Impact to move, so Abe didn't bother issuing an order.

"Ironclad," Vic called, "dive in and use Drill Peck!"

"Rock Tomb," Abe said, disinterested again. Despite the speed boost, Stampede was still quicker than Ironclad. Stampede bent down and ripped up a chunk of earth twice the size of a bowling ball. He hurled it at Ironclad with all his strength when Ironclad was just two meters away. The chunk of rock shattered against Ironclad's armored body, slowing it a bit but he didn't even react to the pain.

Ironclad dove in, clamping the metal visor down over his face. A sharpened edge extended outward from the human Skarmory's face and locked in place. Ironclad buried the sharp point of the helmet into Stampede's chest. Stampede winced a little, but there was no wound as there had been with Inferno. Ironclad bounced back, hovering in the air just half a meter in front of Stampede.

"Double-Edge," Abe ordered, while across the field he heard Vic shout, "Air Cutter!"

Stampede burst forward and rammed into Ironclad's chest, knocking him back a short distance, but inflicting little damage. Stampede shook his head; the collision with his steel-hard opponent had left him a little dazed. Ironclad countered by flapping his wings and sending multiple boomerang-like blades, whipping through the air at Stampede. Most of the blades bounced off, but a few bit into his arms and legs, leaving small cuts behind.

"Think you've had enough?" Abe asked Stampede. As a courtesy to his human Pokémon, Abe had held back their secret weapon for dealing with this sort of enemy.

"I guess," Stampede admitted, "he's a little stronger than I thought."

"Fair enough," Abe nodded, "Wild Charge." Stampede crouched back, ready to spring forward. The air around him crackled and small sparks of electricity arced across his back as he prepared the attack.

"Damn!" Vic's eyes widened in terrified alarm, "Uh…umm…try another Air Cutter, Ironclad!"

Too late, Stampede sprang at Ironclad, ramming the built up electrical attack surging through Ironclad's body. Ironclad cried out in pain as electricity coursed through him, tearing into him and causing massive damage before arcing from his feet to the ground. Stampede pulled back to watch his defeated opponent spark and twitch in mid-air before collapsing entirely. Stampede panted, grinning at his two victories, which had provided more entertainment than he had expected.

Abe recalled Stampede as Vic rushed forward to check on his defeated human Skarmory. It had been a good test. Abe had enjoyed himself, after all. A tournament would be just what he needed. Maybe he wasn't getting as old as he thought.

Ah, the tournament, the battle had pushed it from his mind. Abe was looking forward to it, though. He had competed in all of the previous human Pokémon tournaments. Those tournaments had been a new lease on life after his two best Pokémon had evolved into humans, seemingly stripping him of his best abilities. A new world opened up before him, a new reason to keep going after so many years.

But Abe wasn't going this year just to make contacts and scope out the competition. No, he wanted more this year. He had to pay an old friend a visit.

"Pay up," Abe demanded as he stood over the kid and his unconscious Skarmory, in the road, "or do you not have the Pokédollars?"

* * *

><p>Silver was lying on his back, gazing up at a moonless sky when his sharp ears caught the sound of Shinobi approaching. No matter how quiet the human Ninjask was, Silver always knew when he was coming, and he didn't like it.<p>

Silver was a human Absol. Protruding through his snow-white hair was the scythe-shaped horn of an Absol. His tail was a jagged half-moon that looked like it would be as rigid as his horn, if it weren't made of hair. His skin was so pale it looked almost translucent, as if he were a ghost fading back and forth between worlds. He wore white from head-to-toe with the exception of his belt, gloves and boots. His handsome features were so smooth that one might guess his age at nineteen or twenty, but, in human years, he was twenty-eight. Only two of which he had been human for.

He sat up, sighing like a moody child having lost at hide-and-seek. Shinobi…if it weren't for him, Silver would've been gone already. At least, that's what he always told himself.

A whisper of wind at his back was the only notice that Silver was given of Shinobi's arrival. The human Ninjask could scarcely be seen at all in the darkness. His wings, although their tips appeared as though dipped in blood, were almost transparent. A ninja's black robes made him appear to melt into the darkness around him. A golden helmet and a black mask obscured the majority of his face, but his blood-red eyes shone forth with a terrible menace. It was a menace that belonged solely to his trainer.

"Yeah, yeah," Silver tossed his head back and forth as he spoke, "you found me. What does Lily want, anyway?"

"Only to know where you were," Shinobi's deep voice never revealed much of what he was thinking, which irritated Silver to no end. He often wondered if the loyal ninja had any independent thoughts of his own.

"I see," Silver stood up, knocking the dust off of his clothes, "worried about me, I take it?"

"Mistress Lily was concerned that you were upset with her," Shinobi reported.

"Why do you call her that?" Silver grimaced, "She doesn't really have any hold over us, you know. So, it's not like you have to show her some imagined level of respect."

"Mistress Lily is deserving of respect because she was and is, our Trainer," Shinobi's voice remained the same, "that is enough."

_Yeah, but she doesn't treat you like a child_, Silver thought, frustrated with the unwavering loyalty of the ninja. He turned and wasn't surprised to find Shinobi kneeling on the ground, awaiting further orders. Silver could probably tell him to murder ten humans, besides Lily, and he would probably do it without any hesitation. He liked that about Shinobi. It was one of the few things he did like about him.

"Whatever," Silver said, "let's get back." He walked through the woods, setting a leisurely pace, back towards their camp and their Trainer. Shinobi, on the other hand, took to the trees, his quick eyes darting around, searching for danger.

"Will you stop that?" Silver scolded him, "There's nobody out here but us, you moron!" Shinobi didn't reply.

_I have to be the only sane one around here._

Lily had lit a fire when Silver and Shinobi returned, its glow lit up the forest. Silver was disappointed to find that Aroma, Lily's human Meganium, was already asleep and in her Pokéball. Sweet, gentle Aroma was the main reason Silver was still with this group. The seventeen year old Lily, who was running at him at full speed, was not.

"Aww…_there_ you are!" Lily squealed, latching onto Silver and burying her face against his chest, "I was soooo worried about you!" She reached up and kissed his cheek hard enough to hurt.

"What for?" Silver raised an eyebrow and rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand as if scratching an insect bite.

"Aww…" Lily withdrew, patting Silver's muscled chest with her slender hands, "I know I don't have to worry, 'cause you're so strong! But, seriously, I still worry! I don't want anything to happen to my little Silvy!"

"Why do you call me that?" Silver snapped, "You gave me this nickname! Why are you nicknaming my nickname?" He clenched his hands as he yelled at Lily, but she just continued smiling serenely, at him.

"You're so cute when you're angry," Lily giggled, "Now, come on, you haven't eaten yet. You must be starving!" She turned and trotted away towards the fire.

"I can't believe you like her," Silver grumbled to Shinobi, who was kneeling off to his left side. Shinobi didn't respond.

_Two more weeks…_ Silver thought, _two more weeks and we'll be on Himitsu Island. Then I can find a better Trainer. Someone who'll get me the hell out of this nightmare._

Silver had never been to the tournament on Himitsu Island. None of them had, because the tournament had only happened twice before going on a two-year hiatus. They had heard about it from several different human Pokémon trainers, but everyone believed the tournament to be dead. No funding and not enough participants meant no tournament.

But now that it had been restored, Silver was beginning to think of it as the light at the end of the tunnel. He could leave Lily's abuse behind and follow a new trainer. Sure he'd leave behind Aroma, but that was a small price to pay for his freedom.

_You could leave whenever you want_, Silver could practically hear Aroma's hurt voice, _a Pokéball can't contain us unless we want it to. So, if you hate us so much, why aren't you leaving?_

The sad thing was, Silver didn't know. And that just made things worse.

He had thought about leaving over and over again. Shinobi could follow him, but he wouldn't make him stay. Silver could just walk straight into those woods and never come back. And yet, he didn't. Why?

Not knowing was the part that hurt the worst. It turned his annoyance into anger and bitterness. He was trapped within himself with this band of misfits led by a little girl with a crush on him.

"_Silvyyyy_! What's taking you so long?" Lily called, "It's gonna get coooold!"

_Two more weeks_, Silver sighed, _a week and a half really. Just eleven days._

* * *

><p>AN: taking a break from the main characters for a little bit. we finally have a battle and get in some of that promised blood and violence! huzzah!<p> 


	6. A Day as a Human Pokemon

Chapter 5

"Mark…Mark…Mark…" A sweet, soft, musical voice whispered. The voice reminded him of birds singing. It reminded him of sparrows, robins, and other small birds, gently chirping in the morning, greeting the day with hope and faith.

"Mark…Mark…Mark…" Something was also poking him in the side as the musical voice repeated his name. It wasn't painful, just annoying, but it contrasted with the voice in a very unpleasant way. There was also the sense of someone standing right near him, peering down at him with keen interest, probably just inches from his face. He realized that he was awake, so, he opened his eyes.

"Good morning!" Maple beamed down at him. She continued poking his side as she bent over him.

"Morning…" Mark said groggily, "Wait…you can talk!"

"Yep!" Maple chimed. She stood up straight to give Mark room to sit up.

"So, does this mean, you're all done?" Mark asked.

"Umm…" Maple thought for a moment, placing her index finger on her chin, "I guess so. It's been two days. I mean, that's what that girl Kim said, right?"

"You remember that?" Mark was surprised that she did, but it would save some explaining.

"Yep!" Maple nodded before putting her finger back to her chin, "…I guess I didn't really understand it, though…but that's okay! I get it, now!"

"Wait, you didn't before…but now you do?" Mark had no idea how this all worked and he had held out hope that Maple would.

"Yep!" Maple nodded enthusiastically before bursting out explanations like machine-gun fire, "It's like, I could remember what she said, but, I didn't know what it meant until just this morning! And it's like that with a lot of stuff, like, the mirror, or the TV. I know so much about what they are now! Like, even the electricity makes sense, now! It's so cool! Oh, sorry, about the chair, by the way…" Maple slowed down and trailed off when she mentioned the chair.

"Don't worry about it," Mark smiled, shaking his head, "I'm just glad you're alright. You are alright, right?"

"Yeah…" Maple blushed, "I'm great." She wanted to throw her arms around Mark and hug him, but something about that felt different. It was an act that she wouldn't have thought twice about just two days ago, but some vague intuition told her that now was not the time. It was a better idea to wait. What she was waiting for, Maple had no idea.

"Well, that's a relief," sighing, Mark sat back. He took a few minutes to process what was happening, while Maple sat down on the opposite bed, watching him with interest.

Most importantly, Maple could talk. So, as far as they knew, she was finished transforming and was as human as she was going to get.

"So, what else do you remember?" Mark asked, "Do you remember anything before you were umm…human, I guess."

"Yep!" Maple chirped, "I still remember that time we saw the sunset over Eterna City. You know that night we were on the cliff looking over the city. It was so pretty…" Maple trailed off and began staring into the distance, recalling every detail of the memory. She shut her eyes, smiled and began to sway back and forth just a tiny bit.

"Uh…Maple?" Mark was a little hesitant to disturb the pleasant memory. He remembered that night, but apparently not the same way that Maple did. Mark had remembered the impressive view, but Maple had been lying by his side. He had scratched her head, listening to her purr, like a cat, while they watched the sky. It had been pleasant, but Maple thought it had been a scene of perfect serenity. Mark wondered how many more memories Maple had about moments like that.

"Huh?" Maple's ears perked up as she returned to the moment, "did I miss something?"

"No, it's okay," Mark sighed, "So, you remember the ranch, right?"

"Yep!" Maple declared before starting off at a break-neck pace again, "I remember Hayley and Jeremiah and Cole. Cole's really quiet, but I still like him. And I remember that Jitter and Eclipse and all my other brothers and sisters are there and so are Mom and Dad and-"

"Yeah, okay," Mark was afraid she'd never stop, "well, anyway, I want to stop there before we head to this tournament."

"Oh, okay," Maple nodded, "yeah, that sounds great! So, we're going to compete in that tournament, then?"

"Well, I don't know about compete," Mark admitted, "but I think it's worth checking out. See who else knows about what's happening. I mean…do you know why you evolved?"

Maple didn't respond right away. At first, she looked shocked that he had asked the question at all. Then, she dropped her gaze and stared at the floor, seeming to mull something over. Finally, she shook her head.

"…Sorry," she said solemnly, "I'm not sure…"

"Okay," Mark nodded, "then this tournament should be the place to find out. So, I think we should go."

"You do? Cool!" Maple perked up, again, "it'll be great! I know it will!"

"Yeah," Mark hesitated before continuing, "so, you can just go back in your Pokéball and we'll get going." He reached down to his bag, on the floor, and produced Maple's Pokéball. To Mark's surprise, Maple recoiled upon seeing the ball.

"I don't wanna," Maple shook her head, in fear, "I wanna be out here."

"Why?" Mark stared at the red and white ball in his hand, "what's it like in there? Is it that bad?"

"Well," Maple played with her fingers while she spoke, "it's not really bad. I mean, it's a lot like this," she gestured around the room, "but it gets really, really lonely sometimes…most of the time, actually."

"Oh…okay," Mark put the Pokéball away, still not completely understanding what was wrong with it, "well, I guess if you're gonna be out with me, then we should probably cover up your ears and tail."

"What's wrong with them?" Maple whined. She cupped her ears with her hands and pulled her tail close against her body.

"Nothing," Mark admitted, "but it'll be weird for people to see that you're, you know, not human."

"But I am human, now," Maple pointed out, "I have a belly-button and everything!" She was about to pull up her dress to show Mark, but she thought better of it. Somehow, that felt even worse than hugging him. Being human was weird.

"That's not what I meant…" Mark rubbed his forehead, "well, I guess we can just tell people you're in costume…maybe it'll work. You'll still need shoes, though."

"How come?" Maple tilted her head to the side, in confusion.

"Umm…your feet will get dirty," Mark spoke as if he was explaining this to a two-year old, "and it'll hurt a lot if you step on a rock."

"No they won't. See?" Maple extended her leg and placed her foot a few centimeters from Mark's face. Some things didn't feel as weird as others and apparently showing Mark her feet was much lower on the list than hugging him. It was also funny to watch Mark's reaction.

"Right, okay, I get it," Mark pushed Maple's foot away, which tickled a little, "fine, we'll just go. But once your feet start to hurt; I have an extra pair of shoes. They'll be a little big, but it'll be something."

"Okey-dokey," Maple chirped as she lowered her foot back to the floor.

"Alright," Mark nodded, with a destination in mind, everything was coming together, "then, it'll just be a quick walk through town, and we'll be at the ranch by night time. Sounds like a plan."

"Hurray!" Maple cheered, springing to her feet, "let's go!"

* * *

><p>Maple's first shower was a confusing, but very entertaining experience, for her. She had no way of knowing what the knobs did, so, she was forced to fiddle with them, producing two extremes of temperature. She stumbled on an agreeable middle-ground strictly by accident in the middle of a panicked frenzy.<p>

However, she found that removing her clothes was the more interesting part about getting a shower. She discovered quite a few new features about her body that required another ten-minute examination in the mirror. She thought about how strange it was that she was so much curvier as a girl than she had been as a Leafeon. She discovered that she liked it, though, so, that made it okay.

She accidentally put on her dress wrong, the first time. She had it both upside-down and inside-out. It took a few tries to get it correct, but eventually she had it, despite the fact that the dress itself didn't fit her body exactly the way that she thought it should. She also almost forgot her underwear, but thankfully she realized that something didn't feel quite right before she left the bathroom.

After Maple's shower, Mark packed up everything they had and checked out of the Pokémon Center. The receptionist was even more confused by Maple's overly enthusiastic greeting than she had been when Maple had been licking herself. Which Mark thought was entirely backwards.

And then, Maple was back outside.

The instant she felt the sun's warmth, she closed her eyes, spread her arms and twirled in place, soaking in the wonderful sounds and sensations.

"Oh, sweet Arceus…" Maple cooed to no one in particular, "I missed this so much…"

"That's right," Mark nodded, "you were…or are, I guess, a Grass Pokémon. Being outside must be great."

"It is…" Maple smiled, "it really is."

As the two headed west through Ecruteak City and towards Olivine City, Mark kept a steady walking pace, a little faster than a stroll, but Maple neglected the boring movement. Instead, she either skipped, danced, twirled, hopped or anything she could to make the event more interesting. Mark watched her with amusement at first, but scolded her more and more as they moved into more heavily populated sections of the city.

"Hey," Maple stopped suddenly and pointed at a rather large building off in the distance, "Isn't that the Gym where you beat that ghost-trainer guy?"

"Sure is," Mark said proudly, happy to relate his battle experiences, "Morty was his name. He was good, too. In fact, he almost beat me. His Gengar was _insanely_ powerful, but Quilava managed to take him down, just by the skin of our teeth."

"Cool," Maple envisioned the back-and-forth battle between Mark's Quilava and Morty's Gengar, "I wish I could've been there…"

"Yeah, that's right," Mark nodded, "I had to leave you back in Sinnoh when I first got here. They wouldn't let me bring you without a license."

"Yeah…" Maple's ears drooped as she remembered the months when Mark had been away in the Johto region without her. Their relationship had been different then, but they had still missed each other.

"C'mon, let's keep going," Mark said, jolting Maple out of her daydream.

They stumbled into a stretch of store-fronts in the middle of an open-air market and Maple started darting from shop to shop. She examined everything with wide-eyed curiosity. She moved from statues and jewelry to electronics and child's joys and examined everything with equal parts joy and fascination.

"It's all so cool," Maple marveled, turning a cheese-grater over and over in her hands, "what's it for?" Mark would've explained, but Maple was already off again.

He had to dodge and careen around other people with every step in order to keep up with her. The marketplace was getting busier and more crowded by the second. Mark found himself reminded of trout trying to swim upstream. He felt he could sympathize now that he had been chasing Maple through a river of people.

He barely managed to catch up and keep her from breaking a glass bowl before she was off again.

"Maple!" Mark called after her, "slow down!" But she didn't seem to hear, lost in the shiny new world as she was.

Minutes later, Mark had lost her.

* * *

><p>"Pretty…" Maple marveled at a necklace with a leaf-shaped pendant carved out of an emerald. It glittered with a brilliance that hypnotized her. Jewelry, in all of its shining glory, was quickly becoming her favorite type of human-made object. To find something with a leaf felt like destiny.<p>

"Like it?" the shopkeeper, a rather rotund woman in her forties materialized in front of Maple, "why, I'd say it suits you perfectly!"

"It does, doesn't it?" Maple giggled, swishing her tail back and forth happily, "What do you think, Mark?" The lack of a response made Maple's eyes grow so large that they threatened to cover her entire face. She whirled around fast enough to jar the table with her tail.

"Oh, missing someone?" the shopkeeper asked politely.

"Mark," Maple panted, twisting her head back and forth, "_where'd he go_? _Where'dhego_?"

"Where did who go?" the polite voice was becoming very annoying, very quickly.

"_MARK_!" Maple whirled on the woman, "H-he's my trainer! _Where'dhego_?" She dashed away, ducking and weaving through the crowd. She was gone in an instant, leaving the shopkeeper alone and bewildered.

"Kids sure do take their role-playing seriously," she shook her head and began re-organizing her stand.

Maple must've dashed through the mass of people at least half a dozen times. She cursed Mark for not being able to keep up. She cursed the crowds for keeping her from finding him again. But most of all, she cursed herself for losing him in the first place.

She had been lost around all of the weird little things and had forgotten about Mark. He was supposed to be right behind her. Where did she lose him? Did he leave her behind?

No, that didn't make any sense. Why would he leave her behind? That was crazy! No, he was probably looking for her in the same frantic fashion as she was looking for him. One more time through and she should find him.

That was when she smelled a foul odor on the air and heard something like thunder.

She saw, riding towards her, a group of strange machines ridden by a bunch of men in leather jackets. She had seen those machines before, but she couldn't remember what they were called. They were a lot like bikes, but they were also a lot bigger, shinier, and louder. The smell was the worst part.

Suddenly, Maple got an idea. She ran forward, hailing the lead biker and motioning for him to pull over. He was a large man, mostly around the middle, but his arms were also thick, muscular and deeply tanned. Tattoos adorned the entire right half of his body. Only one made any sense to Maple, which was the tattoo of a Gyarados' gaping mouth on his right shoulder.

"Excuse me," Maple said meekly, "but I'm lost and I'm looking for my trainer. Could you give me a ride around so we can find him quicker?"

* * *

><p>Following Maple's trail after she disappeared was no easy task. Most of the shopkeepers Mark asked had seen her nearly a dozen times. Her path was a convoluted mess, and Mark started to wonder if perhaps she was looking for him at the same time.<p>

Nothing was making sense and Mark was becoming more and more panicked as each shopkeeper told him to go the opposite direction the last one had. Why was it so hard to find a girl with the ears and tail of Leafeon? Everyone else took notice immediately, but Mark was starting to believe that he was clinically blind.

"Excuse me," Mark was ready to give up on asking the shopkeepers when he came to a small jewelry stand at the western end of the strip, "I'm looking for a girl with ears and tail like-"

"Oooh," the woman at the stand was far too pleased to see him, "_you're_ Mark! I was wondering if I'd meet you!"

"Huh?" Mark raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, your little girlfriend left just a few minutes ago," she said much too pleasantly, "it's actually nice to know that she's not really with them, actually."

"What are you talking about?" Mark was frantic again, in an instant, "'She's not really with' who?"

"That motorcycle gang," the shopkeeper said matter-of-factly, "rather dreadful group. They went that way," she pointed west, "headed out of town, I-hey, where are you going?" But Mark was gone, already, running as fast as he could.

* * *

><p>"NO! STOP!" Maple cried out, pushing away from the man with the Gyarados tattoo, "this is not right! You're going the wrong way!" However, her pleas fell on deaf ears and the man clamped a hand over her mouth.<p>

"Shush, now," the man grinned, "scream too loud and we might have to hurt that pretty face of yours, and nobody wants that."

Ignoring the warning, Maple managed to slip from his grip and she jumped from the speeding bike. She rolled away, kicking up dirt and dust, but otherwise okay. She sat up coughing and shaking the dust away. Sweet Arceus, she hated motorcycles.

Realizing he had lost his pet, the gang leader bellowed in anger and whirled around, motioning his four followers into place. They closed in around Maple in a tight circle, placing their bikes end to end, sealing off any escape.

"Aww…" the leader stepped off his bike and into the circle, "look at you, all damned sweet and innocent. Assloads of energy, too. I like it. But…" he removed a long, silver chain from his bike, "you're gonna need to learn yourself some respect, honey." He began to twirl the chain, wielding it like a whip.

"Why won't you help me?" Maple asked angrily. The biker was so shocked that at first he did nothing but stare. A second later, he doubled over laughing and the rest of the gang followed suit.

"_What_?" he roared, "'why won't you help me?' Seriously? God, you are the dumbest bitch I've _ever_ seen!" He stood up straight, still holding back laughter. Shaking his head, he resumed his advance.

Unperturbed, Maple stood her ground, watching the way he twirled the chain, with interest. It made a curious whistling sound that Maple thought sounded kinda nice.

The chain hit her left shoulder, knocking her to her knees.

Pain wasn't something Maple was used to in her new body. It had roughly the same feel to it, but she realized that the blow probably should have hurt more than what it did. Her shoulder really didn't seem to mind much. It was as if she had stubbed her toe, just in a different spot. Being on her knees was embarrassing, though.

The biker was laughing at her obnoxiously. His smug half-tattooed face looked pathetic to Maple. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see Mark again. And this insignificant little jackass was laughing at her.

The second time the chain came down, Maple caught it. Staring up into the eyes of the man with the Gyarados tattoo, she felt hatred in ways she didn't think possible.

Then, suddenly, her tail went rigid and began to glow. She whispered five words to him that he remembered for the rest of his life.

"_Why didn't you help me_?"

Maple sliced the chain in half in the blink of an eye.

* * *

><p>"Dammit, dammit, dammit," Mark panted with each step. He had been running as fast as his legs could carry him for nearly half an hour. His lungs were burning and his heart threatened to leap from his chest, but still he ran.<p>

He was following the only road that went west, out of town. The only road the bikers could have taken. The road that he hoped he would, no, _must_ find Maple at the end of.

_Just a bit further_, he told himself over and over again as he swore, _just a bit further. God, be alright, Maple. Please God, be alright. _

Suddenly, he heard a scream. It was a man's voice. It had been a scream of absolute terror. It was the scream of a man that was looking at the devil. Mark poured on.

He heard the rumble of a few motorcycles hurriedly being started up and squealing away. He strained his ears, desperate for any sign at all of Maple.

Then, at long last, on the horizon, he saw Maple standing off to the side of the road. One motorcycle stood off to the side while another was lying on its side. There was a man huddled against the upright one.

"_MAPLE_!" Mark screamed the loudest he ever had in his entire life. Maple turned and her face lit up in immeasurable joy and relief. She burst forward, running twice as fast as Mark, and the two embraced each other in the middle of the road. Maple swooned in his arms, basking in the moment of their reunion.

"What the hell are you?" Maple's sharp ears perked up and she remembered the man with the Gyarados tattoo, back by his bike. When Maple had left him, he was on the ground, shuddering in fear while his gang deserted him. One of their bikes was split cleanly in half and he had been staring at it ever since Maple had cut it with Leaf Blade.

There was such a horrible fear in his eyes. A fear that Maple had caused. While he would remember her anger, she remembered his fear.

Even with Mark holding her, Maple started to shake.

"What the hell are you?"

* * *

><p>AN: i think the first five chapters serves as a nice introduction to this story. that should cover most all of the major plotlines that i'm gonna be working with.<p>

anyways, if you want, let me know what you think and thanks for reading!


	7. Monsters or Pokemon

Chapter 6

Cascade tossed back her long, flowing, bleach-blond hair. It poured down over her shoulders in a golden waterfall, shimmering in the mid-morning sunlight. The young woman wore a flowing gown with a black and orange bodice and a billowing white skirt that was dotted with blotches of black. A single horn extended from her forehead, marking her as a human Seaking.

She had just finished washing her delicate hair while Coraline, a human Banette watched her. She wore a black and grey dress with a curious cross-stitch pattern which extended from the waist up. Her skirt was rather short, which she compensated for with black nylon stockings. Her stubborn black hair billowed out from her head, giving the impression that it was made of smoke.

"Are you done, yet?" Coraline sighed impatiently, "You've been washing your hair for hours."

"I have not!" Cascade called back, offended by the accusation, "it's only been five minutes!"

"I've been counting," Coraline flopped onto her back, "and it's definitely been at least half an hour."

"See?" Cascade teased, "It's only been half an hour! You said so yourself, liar! Besides, Alex likes it when my hair's nice and clean."

"Not that it makes much of a difference," Coraline muttered, "you're way too stupid for him, anyway."

"You take that back!" Cascade snapped, stomping out of the lake towards Coraline.

"Prove me wrong," Coraline scoffed, waving her hand, "say something smart."

"Huh?" Cascade was so shocked that she stopped dead in her tracks, "like what?"

"I dunno," Coraline shook her head before thinking a minute, "well, you're a water human Pokémon, right? Why are electric attacks stronger against water Pokémon?"

"Umm…" Cascade thought about it for far too long, "because…because water's easier to move through than something solid."

"Case and point," Coraline smirked, "you're stupid."

"I am not!" Cascade stomped the ground, "that's the answer!"

"Sorry," Coraline shook her head, "but you're a moron."

"Maybe you're the one who's stupid," Cascade crossed her arms, determined to end the conversation.

"Whore," Coraline muttered.

"Bitch!" Cascade screeched.

"What…the hell…are you two…bitching…about…" Dozer yawned. Most would say that his tired voice sounded slightly agitated, which meant to Cascade and Coraline that he was downright furious. Would he do something about it? No. But that wasn't the point, as Dozer saw it.

Dozer was a human Snorlax. He wore a baggy sweatshirt and sweatpants that were a dull grey, except for the stomach, which was a cream colored off-white. The small, triangular ears of a Snorlax stuck out from his head. On his feet he was a hulking 6'4" and 362 lbs. a downgrade from a regular Snorlax. However, he was rarely on his feet. In fact, he was perfectly content to stay in his Pokéball and sleep, but Alex insisted that he spend some time outside every morning. He rarely fought, but when he did there was no mistaking the joy it gave him, despite the strenuous activity.

Alex was the trainer of all three human Pokémon. Although he was off on his own and away from camp, this morning, he looked after each of his human Pokémon with an equal amount of care and devotion. But that didn't stop them from fighting.

"She started it!" Cascade pointed at Coraline.

"Did not."

"Did to!"

"Did not."

"Oooo," Cascade stomped on the ground, "you're just jealous, 'cause Alex likes me best."

"As if I care," Coraline sighed as she stood up, "now, if you'll excuse me. I am going to go _find_ him so _he_ can tell you just how stupid you are."

"Whatever…" Dozer grumbled, "It's not like…he…loves…either of you…anyway." His remark sent the two girls into a fresh round of squawking and Dozer regretted saying anything. At this rate, it would be days before he could get back to sleep.

Alex could just make out the indignant screaming he heard coming from the camp. He smirked and rolled his eyes before turning back to the Pokéball he had in his hand.

He still couldn't decide if he would actually attend the tournament on Himitsu Island. He couldn't be sure if he was ready. Powerful trainers, much more powerful than he, waited for him. He had three very reliable and very trustworthy human Pokémon that would die for him, if necessary. Not that he would ever ask such a thing, nor was it necessary. The human part of these human Pokémon made them bleed, but it wouldn't kill them.

But it was neither Dozer nor Coraline nor Cascade that worried him. It was his fourth human Pokémon, the one sealed within the Pokéball in his hand.

Whisper was a double-edged sword. He was incredibly powerful, but also almost totally wild. Whisper loved fighting more than Dozer loved sleeping.

But that was what terrified Alex. He had seen what Whisper was capable of and he had promised himself that he would never let it happen, again. He had promised himself to never again allow Whisper to get a taste of battle.

Alex had promised him that he would find an opponent worthy to fight him. That worked for a while, but Whisper was growing impatient. Alex's lies could only last so much longer before Whisper decided that he had had enough. Then Alex would lose him.

The young man sighed and rubbed his forehead. Once, Whisper had been his best, his favorite. He had been Alex's first human Pokémon. Now…he was afraid to let him around even his own Pokémon.

Alex was carrying around a true monster. How much longer before it turned on him? The tournament might be the only way for him to buy some time, even if it meant letting the monster roam free.

Rubbing his aching temples again, he put the Pokéball away. He turned towards the sound of his bickering human Pokémon. He already felt sorry for the person that would face Whisper.

* * *

><p>"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Mark's legs ached and his lungs were on fire, but he didn't show it as he examined Maple, "you're shaking."<p>

Maple pushed away from him, her lower lip was quivering. Far away she could hear the man with the Gyarados tattoo mount his motorcycle. The tires squealed on the road as he drove away as quickly as he could.

_What the hell are you_?

"Maple…" Mark stared at her, uncomprehending, "what happened to you?"

Maple couldn't speak, but instead she tugged Mark along back to the spot where she had fought and decimated her kidnappers. Without speaking, she pointed at the wreckage. Aside from the destroyed motorcycle and the remnants of the leader's chain, half a dozen other weapons were also in pieces, including a shotgun split right down the barrel.

"Holy," Mark whispered as he knelt on the ground, not sure what to think, as he surveyed the area, "Did you do this?"

Maple nodded and hung her head. She was fidgeting and shaking, uncontrollably.

"Wow," Mark sighed, "I'm glad you're okay." He didn't say anything else, but just thought about what must have happened.

It was obvious that Maple had gotten away from them. Otherwise they wouldn't have stopped this close to the city. After that, they had tried to discipline her and Maple had fought back. He could hardly believe what she had done. She had been able to take on a group of armed men completely alone without even a scratch. Even the full group working together was defenseless.

"Hey," Mark walked over to Maple, "it's okay. They can't hurt you anymore."

Maple didn't respond and kept quivering, staring at her feet.

"You know," Mark smiled, "I'm proud of you."

At this remark, Maple stopped shaking and her ears and tail stood straight up.

"Really?" she said meekly.

"Yeah," Mark nodded, "you took them all on by yourself. That's incredible."

Maple blushed and began to fidget in an entirely different manner.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Mark suggested and Maple was all too happy to comply.

* * *

><p>Alfred Silph gazed out at the vast, towering expanse of Saffron City beneath him as a small flock of Pidgey flapped by the window. He had lived in Saffron City his entire life and never once did he think that he could live out his life anywhere else. It was a beautiful city filled with towering buildings, reaching closer and closer towards the heavens. Amidst all of them, the Silph Co. building towered over everything.<p>

One day the company would be his and then this beautiful city would be his. Saffron City was his home. It was the place where he had gone to school, where he had run around the streets during his childhood. It was the place where he and his wife would raise their own daughter. Alfred's only wish was that he wouldn't ruin it.

As he gazed down at it, he couldn't help but wonder something. How many human Pokémon lived in Saffron City? A dozen? Two, at most? The number was miniscule, to say the least. A bustling city with nearly a million citizens and there might not even be a dozen.

Needless to say, he supported a very small community. The tournament on the secluded Himitsu Island was a pet project that, in all likelihood wasn't even going to generate a profit. It wouldn't exist at all without his influence and had died twice before just because only a dozen or so trainers expressed interest in competing.

The real problem was; most people that had human Pokémon, at all, kept them hidden. It even seemed like a natural reaction, to them. What would the world do if they knew of the existence of such powerful Pokémon?

Alfred shuddered to think what would become of them. Would they be recruited as soldiers for war? Perhaps slaughtered and used as raw material for medical research? Or would they simply be chained and imprisoned? Maybe it was better that they stayed hidden.

The downside was that it kept them scattered. To call the under three hundred known human Pokémon in the world a community was laughable. They were like all Pokémon and Pokémon trainers. They were drifters that were almost impossible to track down. A tournament was the only thing that got their attention.

But, sometimes, even that wasn't enough to draw them out, to bring them together. It would be better this year. It would be bigger, grander, the best tournament that Alfred Silph, heir to the Silph Co. was capable of putting on. He had everything he needed to make it so. Just one thing remained.

The intercom buzzed, letting Alfred know that his agent, Frederic Pole, was here to see him. Alfred welcomed him in and graciously motioned for the man to sit.

"So, how is everything shaping up?" Alfred wasted no time in moving to business as he prepared Frederic's favorite drink, himself.

"Everything's going surprisingly well," Frederic nodded enthusiastically, "we managed to find quite a few new trainers this year. It's as if more and more are popping up all the time."

"Sounds like good news," Alfred handed him his drink before jumping up on top of his own desk, "How many do you think will compete?"

"A good number, I'd say," Frederic nodded in between sips, "at least enough for five rounds."

"Five rounds?" Alfred made no effort to hide his delight, "That's excellent! We're really looking at something fantastic!" he paused long enough to take a sip of his own drink before continuing, "Any word on the Four?"

"The Four…yes…" Frederic took a moment to gather his thoughts, "well, a lot of what goes on with them seems to be…interdependent."

"Meaning…?" Alfred raised an eyebrow. He had personally met all of them and he knew them better than most people, but he still knew almost nothing. The only thing he knew for certain was that they were by far the most powerful human Pokémon trainers in the world, and therefore the most powerful Pokémon trainers in the world.

More than that, they were the epitome of what a typical human Pokémon trainer acted like. They were highly close-knit and secretive. They were almost always on the move, periodically disappearing entirely. They even used codenames instead of real ones, as if they were fugitives. Of course, no one besides them knew why.

"Well, I first spoke with EdgeoftheEarth," Alfred nodded as if he had heard it a thousand times and motioned for Frederic to continue, "he said that he would attend only if PureBlueSky attended. PureBlueSky said he would attend only if RiverofTears attended. Then, RiverofTears informed me that she would only attend if Aurum attended…"

"Okay," Alfred nodded, "what did Aurum say?"

"That…he's retired…sir," Frederic sighed and hung his head.

"_What_?" Alfred roared, slamming his fist down on the desk, "are you telling me that one, just one, miserable old man is the only thing keeping them all from coming?"

"Yes, sir," Frederic muttered. He sounded like he wanted to do every menial task he could think of if it meant being somewhere else, "he was very adamant about it."

"Unbelievable," Alfred sighed, leaning his head back, "well, we're just going to have to convince him that he _must_ come."

"Sir, even without the Four, it will still be a wonderful tournament," Frederic tried, knowing it wouldn't work.

"Don't be stupid," Alfred sighed, standing up to gaze out at his city, again, "if word gets out that the Four aren't coming, the whole tournament will fall apart. Those were the best matches of the first two tournaments. Everyone in the stands wanted to see those four fight each other. I will not have the third year in a row ruined because of three twenty-year-old kids and an old man!" He hung his head and put his hand on the window.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't think there's anything we can do," Frederic admitted.

"Yes, there is. There always is," Alfred downed the rest of his drink before standing up straight. He regained his composure as an idea struck him, "where is Aurum enjoying his retirement, anyway? I'll pay him a visit myself."

"Olivine City, sir," Frederic informed him, "in the Johto region."

* * *

><p>AN: expanding the world in this chapter and mentioning my own version of the elite four.<p>

anyway, i've been writing ahead for a while now, but i think i will upload as i'm writing. i'll do a minimum of one a week, but i'll go faster if i can keep ahead. that way i know where i want the story to go, but can still edit before it's too late to fix any major problems that arise.

so, once again, thanks for reading!


	8. Home Away From Home

Chapter 7

Once the road split into the highway and the pedestrian routes, blacktop and cement were quickly replaced with grass and dirt. The feel of it on Maple's bare feet was far more pleasant than the unforgiving rocks of the pavement. Although Mark frequently asked her whether or not her feet hurt, she never once complained.

Maple was much more at home on the quiet woodland path of Route 38 than the crowded, smelly city. Out here there was nothing but quiet, lovely nature. Her element and her home.

All of the routes that connected the various cities had a road for cars and a road for pedestrians. Those pedestrians were almost always Pokémon trainers. The routes were where trainers spent most of their lives. After all, most Pokémon stayed far away from the main roads and wherever there were Pokémon, trainers would be somewhere nearby.

Mark and Maple had seen a few trainers on their way. They were mostly locals checking their usual stomping grounds for rarer Pokémon than the common Pidgey and Spearow fluttering through the air, or the Rattata scampering through the underbrush. These trainers didn't seem too concerned with Maple, but most, if not all, gave her strange looks.

However, it wasn't the trainers' reactions that bothered Maple. The Pokémon themselves were behaving very strangely when she approached. Most didn't take any special notice, but the ones that did never gave a positive reaction.

At one point, a trio of Rattata ran across the path in front of them. The first two didn't take any notice of their approach, but the last one stopped, sniffed the air briefly, and then began bristling its fur. It hissed violently at them before darting away, back the way it had come. Many of the wild Pokémon reacted to Maple's presence like she was an abomination; something to be hated and feared. Maple could only guess at why.

Maple hadn't been born in the wild, but instead had lived in a world where humans were always close by. Even though these were wild Pokémon they must have been somewhat accustomed to seeing humans. But they probably had never seen anything quite like Maple before.

Was she really that unnatural to them?

"The woods stop for a bit after a few more miles," Mark said as the sun began to set, "you sure you don't need a break?"

"Nope, I'm good," Maple smiled. She didn't know how to explain to him what she was feeling. First that biker had been afraid of her and now the Pokémon were afraid of her. She had thought that the Pokémon would recognize her as one of their own, but that obviously wasn't true.

"Okay," Mark nodded, "I guess we'll go for a bit longer, then." Maple was much quieter than she had been just a few hours ago. She was probably still upset from the biker episode. Mark was still winded from running after her, too, but he did his best not to show it. Maybe Maple was doing the same.

At the pace they were going they would make the ranch not too long after dark. And then they would both be able to rest and recover. Mark wondered how long it had been since he'd seen the place. He could still remember how it had looked when he and Hayley had bought the veritable piece of junk.

* * *

><p>"Well, whaddya think?" Mark could still hear Hayley's cheerful, country voice when she showed him the barn that made rustic look like pristine.<p>

"Is it safe?" Mark asked dubiously, his eyes shifting from the dilapidated barn, back to Hayley, and back to the barn, again.

"It will be," Hayley declared, proudly, "just gimme a few months and I guarantee you'll love it. A home away from home."

Mark stared at the peeling paint, the collapsing roof and the rusting door hinges and had trouble seeing how that would be possible.

"At least the land's salvageable," Mark muttered. The wide expanse of land would take work to get ready to be able to take care of any Pokémon. Rocks and tree stumps dotted the landscape, which seemed to be infested with all sorts of dangerous snakes and spiders, as well as a few poisonous Pokémon thrown in for good measure.

"Look, Hayley," Mark started, "we have plenty of money. We can afford something a bit better than…this. I mean, you don't even have to move to Johto. You can just stay in Sinnoh. It's not like it's impossible for me to move back."

"Nuh-uh," Hayley shook her head, "sorry, buddy, but I'm stayin'. I grew up in Johto and it's where I've always wanted a ranch. Hell, my Ma and Pa ain't more than a day's drive away. So, no backin' out. You hear me?"

"Alright, fine," Mark hung his head, "but I still think we should have a better place than this."

"You worry too much," Hayley beamed, "and trust me. We _will_ have a better place. Just you wait. Trainers the world over won't be able to wait to get a Pokémon from the Endless Horizons Pokémon Ranch!"

"Uh…" Mark rolled his eyes, "we'll have to work on that name…"

* * *

><p>One year ago, the ranch was more than a little shabby and run-down, but Hayley had nonetheless made fantastic strides with the place since then. She had kept her promise and fully repaired the barn in less than two months. She had even built a small cabin for herself, which doubled as an office. Now the barn was three times as big and they had fifty acres of land with which to let any Pokémon they raised roam anywhere they wanted. Even the name stuck, despite Mark's protests.<p>

Hayley was growing more and more proud of the place by the day. Her dream was to have a ranch that could hold even a few thousand Pokémon. It would take a lot more time and even more hard work, but Hayley couldn't keep herself from imagining looking out the window at a utopia of Pokémon, in her backyard.

She was never much of a Pokémon trainer, herself. That was why she had partnered with Mark. He was a great trainer, but he needed more space for his Pokémon, and for some reason, which Hayley thought was really sweet, he hated using the Pokémon Box System that most trainers used.

Raising captured Pokémon also made taking care of them a lot easier. Some people had ranches with Pokémon that were originally wild, but the enhancements from the Pokéball taming system made it possible to run the place with less staff than most.

Hayley sat at the table, sipping on a cup of tea, going over the finances for the ranch. That was another talent of hers. She was only four years older than Mark, but she had worked with her father on everything he did at their own ranch. Through watching her father, Hayley had picked up her own fair share of tips and techniques on how to run a place like this, which was another talent she possessed that Mark didn't.

She wondered what her partner was doing. He often didn't check in for weeks at a time and it was even rarer for him to visit, even when they had been in the Sinnoh region. The last she knew, he was on his way to Ecruteak City, which had been a full week ago.

Mark had been something of a drifter ever since she had met him. As if staying in one place too long would make him stop training altogether. She had promised him a home away from home, but he didn't seem to want one.

Still, Hayley liked the kid. She watched over his Pokémon as if they were her own, caring for them as best she could.

A knock at the door disrupted her thoughts. The ranch wasn't closed yet, but it was rare to have a visitor after dark. Nevertheless, Hayley happily strode toward the door.

"Welcome to…Mark!" Hayley stopped, shocked to see her partner and a girl dressed like a Leafeon, in the doorway, "hello, what're you doing here? I thought you were in Ecruteak City."

"Yeah, hi," Mark nodded, "well…I was, but…slight change of plans."

"_Hayley_!" Maple cried in delight, as recognition sank in. She flung herself at Hayley and hugged her. Not knowing how to react, Hayley went rigid and she stared questioningly at Mark.

"Yeah…" Mark hesitated, "something kinda…happened in Ecruteak City."

"Guess so," Hayley muttered as Maple released her.

* * *

><p>"So, this is Maple?" Hayley said with her brow furrowed in puzzlement, "Your Leafeon?"<p>

"Well," Mark sighed, "she was, but, she evolved into this. A _human Pokémon_, I guess." The words still sounded strange next to each other like that, it was as if he would never get used to saying them.

"She seems human enough…" Hayley and Mark both sat at the round, wooden table as they watched Maple explore the room. She would pick up objects at random, examine them by turning them over and over, and finally put them back, often with the wrong side up.

"She can still fight like a regular Pokémon, too," Mark said, and Hayley recognized the pride in his voice.

"Not bad," Hayley said, trying not to sound impressed, "so…how 'bout this tournament? That why ya stopped by?"

"Yeah," Mark nodded, "I'll need to change around my team a bit to be ready for a tournament. Figured I'd stop by, since it's on the way."

"So, you're competing then?" Hayley asked.

"Well, yeah," Mark said, his voice suggested that he had never thought that he wouldn't.

"Even with her being a girl, now?" Hayley pressed.

"Huh?" Mark had to think about what she meant, but after a second he understood. If Maple was a girl now, why fight at all? She certainly didn't have to. A completely new world had opened up for her, what would be the point in fighting? Hell, she could probably train her own Pokémon, if she wanted to.

"Umm…Hayley," Maple spoke up from behind them, "I know it sounds strange, but I do still want to fight." She set down the candle she had been examining, on its side. Mercifully, it was unlit.

"You don't really have to, Maple," Mark admitted, "I mean, you can do anything you want now." He hesitated for a brief moment before finishing, "and I can take care of you, I don't mind."

Maple blushed at those words, but she shook her head, "no, I'm not just a girl. I'm a Pokémon too. I don't want to stop training and getting stronger just because something's changed. I've been fighting my whole life and I don't want to stop."

Now Mark understood why Maple wanted to fight.

Throughout history, humans and Pokémon alike had fought for many reasons. Survival had always been the main reason for fighting of any kind. In fact, that was how Pokémon training got started at all. Humans would have been all but defenseless against the magical creatures. The only way was to catch one, tame it and use it against other Pokémon.

But it was more complicated than just survival, and not just for Maple. After all, Mark had heard about plenty of people that just sought greater strength and even enlightenment through fighting, whether they were fighting Pokémon or other people. They weren't fighting for survival. What was stopping them from just walking away?

Was that the true motivation for Pokémon to follow humans? It was certainly no secret that training and fighting were the fast track to Pokémon evolution. Not to mention that some evolutions were outright impossible without human influence. After all, there was no such thing as a wild Scizor. Its evolution from Scyther was far too complicated without any human involvement. Of course, Scizor was not a special case. A myriad of Pokémon simply did not exist in the wild because of limitations like this. It took human ingenuity and experimentation to discover the vast number of ways that Pokémon could evolve.

Most importantly, with the evolution that Pokémon sought, came greater power. With a really good trainer, a Pokémon could reach higher and higher levels of strength. The chance for growth would be too tempting to ignore. That is, if the trainer was good enough to capture that Pokémon, in the first place.

When he thought about it that way, Mark wondered if Pokéballs were even necessary.

"Is that why Pokémon fight?" Hayley asked, "to get stronger?" Lost in his thoughts, Mark had forgotten to respond to Maple.

"Of course," Maple said it with such conviction that there was no point in arguing any further. To her, it was as natural as her tail.

"Alrighty then," Hayley stood up, "as long as you both want to do it, I won't try to stop you." She turned back to Mark, "at any rate, it's nice to have you back for a little bit. Your Pokémon miss you."

Maple's ears perked up, as if she had forgotten something very important.

"Something wrong?" Mark asked.

"No, nothing's wrong," Maple shook her head, "but…can I see Mom and Dad?"

"Huh?" Hayley peered at her, "Mom and Dad?"

"She means Twitch and Ember," Mark corrected, "her…parents."

"Oh!" Hayley shook her head, instantly embarrassed, "yeah, c'mon out to the barn. They're probably gettin' settled in as we speak."

Hayley lit a lantern and took the two outside. She led the way to the barn underneath a clear late-spring sky as a sliver of silver moonlight shone down on them. They could hear Hoothoot and Noctowl calling from the woods, back along Route 38, where Mark and Maple had come from.

The barn held most of the Pokémon at night with only a few exceptions, like Mark's larger Pokémon, remaining outside. They took care of enough Eevees and Eevee evolution Pokémon to fill the first floor of the barn to full capacity. Hayley was careful to provide every Pokémon with enough space and keep the stalls as clean as possible.

Twitch and Ember, two of Mark's first Eevee evolutions, and Maple's parents, shared a stall together near the entrance to the barn. There was plenty of space to separate Twitch, the male Jolteon, and Ember, the female Flareon, but the two adamantly opposed the separation.

On one occasion, Twitch had rammed into the wooden door on his stall, in an attempt to knock it down. Hayley, terrified that he would hurt himself, immediately put the two together and never let them be parted from each other again. Truthfully, it was rather touching. Such strong affection was something that Hayley rarely saw in Pokémon.

"Looks like you caught 'em at just the right time," Hayley said, hanging the lamp on a beam overtop of Twitch and Ember's stall, "looks like they're settlin' in."

The two Pokémon weren't asleep, but they did look as though they had been rudely awakened by the intrusion. They were lying next to each other, curled up on the hay in such a close resemblance to how Maple slept that Mark found it a little unsettling. Twitch raised his head, blinking sleepily at the intruders.

"Not exactly happy to see us, are they?" Mark asked no one in particular.

"It's okay, they're just tired," Maple chimed and she opened the stall door. She walked in, leaving Mark and Hayley behind and knelt down on the hay with the two Eevee evolutions. Maple put out her hand and let the two sniff at it.

_Remember me_? Maple thought. They continued sniffing her for a another full minute, not showing any sign one way or another that they did, _please, remember me…_ Maple pleaded.

At last, Ember extended her head and nuzzled against Maple's hand. After a moment, Twitch did the same and Maple giggled as she petted their fur.

"I guess they remember you," Mark was clearly uncomfortable about how Maple petted them. He never thought about it before, but was it really okay that Maple was stroking the backside of her mother and father? On the other hand, none of them seemed offended. So, he guessed that it was okay.

"Well, guess I oughta go prep the guest room," Hayley turned to leave, "by which I mean the couch."

"Alright," Mark nodded, "we'll be in after a bit. And thanks again for letting us stay."

"Would you stop that?" Hayley scolded, even as she smiled.

"Umm…Mark," Maple's voice sounded a little strange, "do you think I could stay out here? Just for tonight."

"Huh?" Mark turned back to Maple. He was about to ask why, when he saw the look in Maple's eyes. "Uh…sure. I mean, as long as Hayley's okay with it."

"Oh, don't be stupid," Hayley shook her head, "it's fine. As long as you're sure you'll be comfortable out here."

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Maple smiled. Reluctantly, Hayley and Mark left her alone with Twitch and Ember. They left the lantern behind, so she could have some light. They shut the barn door, leaving her alone with her parents.

"So," Maple tried to sound cheerful, "did you miss me?" Twitch responded by scratching his ear with his back foot while Ember did nothing.

"Umm…" Maple struggled to find words, "I kinda…sorta…evolved. You know, like the story you used to tell me, when I was really little…" The two settled back into their position on the hay, indifferent to Maple's presence.

Maple didn't understand it. They had recognized her, Mark hadn't been wrong. However, they recognized her the same way that they might recognize Hayley or Mark. She was a comforting hand and a friend, nothing more. They hadn't recognized her as their daughter.

"I…I really wanted to know what you thought," Maple started to shake as she spoke, "I mean, I didn't know that it really was possible. I…wanted to believe it. I mean, I _really_ wanted to believe it. But it doesn't feel right. Something's wrong." She stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. Her parents looked at her with a vague look that might be concern, but Maple knew her parents better than that.

They didn't care. Their daughter was on the verge of the tears and they didn't care.

"I mean…I think I know how this happened, but…" Maple hung her head, "doesn't the story say they live happily ever after? That's supposed to happen right? But, it's still really hard. I don't know what's going to happen."

Neither Twitch nor Ember reacted. Why? What had she lost that brought about that change? What was it that they no longer recognized?

"I'm scared…" Maple's voice wavered, "I don't know…what I am, anymore. I'm not a Leafeon…and I'm not a person."

_What the hell are you_?

"Can't you please, help?" Maple bit her lip, "I just…need to know that…you're okay that this happened. Please. Just tell me that everything will be alright. Tell me that I can still have a happy ending." Maple's vision was blurred by tears.

"Please, just answer me one question, at least," Maple looked up at her parents, "I need to know…am I still your daughter?"

The Jolteon and Flareon didn't respond. Instead Twitch laid his head down on the hay and Ember her own head on top of his. Soon, the two were both fast asleep. And then Maple was alone.

* * *

><p>AN: btw, i'm aware that there's no ranch on Route 38, but Route 39 has the MooMoo Farm, so, i figured it was a good spot for Hayley and her "country accent." also, Hayley is more or less supposed to be the Hayley from My Pokemon Ranch<p>

once again, thanks for reading!


	9. A Frozen Heart

Chapter 8

Ian felt like his eyes were going to freeze shut. He was shin-deep in snow, trudging along, hoping and praying that he could find somewhere to stop. The boy was wrapped head-to-toe in three layers of clothing and still the wind bit into him and even seemed to go straight through him, at times. Through the dark of night and the snow blowing in his face, Ian could barely see any farther than five feet in front of him.

This was insane! He had heard about how bad snowstorms could get in the mountains of Route 217. But as a thirteen-year-old, first-time Pokémon trainer, how could he be prepared for this? What was he going to do? Did trainers seriously walk this way, chasing after a badge just to get buried in snow? What had he done wrong? For crying out loud, it was June! What the hell was winter like?

His thoughts pounding at him and the cold threatening to tear him apart, Ian could do nothing but keep pushing forward through the blizzard. He focused on putting one foot in front of the other. _Just a little bit farther, just a little bit farther_, he kept telling himself until it was just a mantra playing in his head. But that little bit farther felt like it was getting bigger with every step he took.

"Holy, Arceus!" the voice was so quiet through the howling wind that Ian wasn't sure if he had heard it at all, "what in the world are you _doing_ out here?" Not able to do more than flop his head from side to side, Ian searched for the owner of the voice.

Then, she walked straight through the blizzard in front of him, so calm and confident, but also gentle and afraid for him. Ian was positive he was hallucinating as the girl strode towards him, unconcerned about the storm.

The vision in front of him was a girl in her early twenties. She wore a sky-blue dress with a short skirt that whipped around her, in the wind. The dress had fur lining, as did her shin-high boots, but it must not have been for comfort. The girl had an unusual amount of skin exposed for this kind of weather. Her shoulders, arms and knees were completely bare. The freezing temperatures apparently did not bother her at all.

Taking her in, Ian thought that this was what love at first sight must feel like. He felt his knees start to buckle as she started to run towards him. He passed out, falling forward into the snow. He had tried his best, now all he could do was lie down and let her take him. There was no question that he was hallucinating and the most beautiful creature he had ever seen had come to help guide him to the next world. He was so absorbed in the certainty of his death that he didn't take any notice of her tail and ears, which were both the elongated diamond shape of a Glaceon.

* * *

><p>When Ian next woke, the wind, the snow and the cold were all gone. They had been replaced with a soft warmth wrapped around him. It hugged him tight and reminded him of days when his mother had made cocoa for him. They would both sit in cocoons of warm blankets, watching something on TV. Maybe it would be a Pokémon tournament, and Ian would excitedly tell her how desperately he wanted to be a Pokémon trainer. How wonderful it would be to be a famous Pokémon master. And she would smile and listen and tell him how proud she would be to see him competing on TV.<p>

But this wasn't home. He sat bolt upright the instant he realized it and there was immediately a hand on his chest, gently pushing him down. A soothing, wispy voice told him to relax and calm down. He listened, but only because it was the voice of the stunning vision that had appeared through snow and ice to come and get him.

Ian was lying on a plush sofa, directly across from a blazing fireplace. The girl knelt on the floor next to him, watching over him the way a mother watches over her sick child.

"It's okay," she whispered, "you're safe here." She stood up, smiling at him, the way the light from the fire lit up her face made Ian swoon. After a second, she asked, "do you want some cocoa?" Ian blushed and grinned, the warmth returning to his cheeks made it hurt, but he didn't care.

The girl walked away and Ian looked around the cabin. He was in a parlor, furnished only with the couch and a single recliner, closer to the fire. There wasn't much decoration, save for a few pictures of people that Ian didn't know. The one in the center of the mantel, above the fireplace, was by far the largest and the four people in it were in every other picture somewhere else in the room. Two boys, a girl, and an old man grinned at the camera. They didn't look much older than Ian, except for the man, who could pass as Ian's grandfather, maybe even his great-grandfather since his face looked so wrinkled.

Ian saw his new love in only one of the pictures. She was standing on the far left side of a group of seven people. They looked like they were in costume, since they were all dressed like Pokémon, except for the very serious looking guy in the center. Ian thought that he looked an awful lot like one of the boys in the main picture.

"Awake, are we?" Ian jumped as the deep, sorrowful voice came from behind him, on the other side of the couch. Ian sat up and twisted around to see a man, probably in his mid-twenties, sitting at a wooden desk and writing. He looked an awful lot like the center man in that picture with all of the costumed people around him, maybe just a few years older. The man didn't look up, but continued writing as if he hadn't said anything, and Ian wondered if he had imagined him speaking.

"What's your name?" the man spoke again and this time Ian was sure because he had watched it happen.

"Ian," he whispered, "I'm from Orreburgh City."

"Alright," the man said, disinterested, "what were you doing out in that storm at night and so far away from the main road, Ian?"

"I'm trying to get to Snowpoint City," Ian said, "to get my seventh badge."

"You're a Pokémon trainer?" the man put his pen down.

"Yeah," Ian nodded excitedly, "I'm gonna be the best ever!"

"Yeah…" the man sighed, "that's what everybody says." The man started to stare at the wall, looking beyond it at something only he could see.

"Cocoa's done!" Ian's future wife materialized in the doorway behind the man at the desk. Ian couldn't help but snicker to himself when the man jumped, startled by her sudden announcement.

"Oh, right," the man shook his head as the girl placed a steaming mug on the desk, "thank you, Flurry." He picked it up and sipped tentatively at it.

_Flurry_, Ian thought with delight, _her name's Flurry…_

"Here you go," she held out a mug for him and he took it, grinning and blushing. The light from the fire place lit up her face and her dazzling blue eyes sparkled like diamonds. It was then that Ian noticed her ears and tail.

Dumbfounded, Ian held his mug and did nothing else as the grin left his face. They weren't costumes he had seen in the picture. Flurry's ears and tail were real. He was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt. Flurry was a Glaceon.

"Okay, enjoy," Flurry disappeared back into the tiny kitchen, behind the man at the desk. A moment later she returned with a tray with six more mugs on it.

"Is Tempest back yet?" Flurry asked the man at the desk.

"Not yet," he replied, "probably won't be for another hour or so."

"Oh," Flurry's ears drooped in disappointment, "okay…" Sighing, she walked away, heading for the stairs behind the fireplace.

"Who's Tempest?" Ian asked, finally able to form words again.

"Why do you want to know?" The man countered.

"Is he out in the storm?" Ian pressed, "'cause it's really bad out there. I should know."

"First of all," the man closed his eyes and sighed, "Tempest is a _she_. And I know how bad it is. _She'll_ be fine. She's not that weak. You were just stupid."

"Hey!" Ian cried, indignantly, "What'd I ever do to you?"

"Ugh…nothing," the man said, defeated.

"See?" Ian smirked, "and Flurry likes me. So, you should too." Without an argument for this, the man didn't respond and they sat in silence for a few minutes. Then, still unsure of how to proceed, Ian asked as gently as he could, "is Flurry…a Glaceon?"

The man turned in his chair to look directly at Ian, as he peered over the couch. Steam continued to waft out of his mug, which remained untouched.

"No," the man shook his head, "she's not. But she's not a girl either, if that's what you're thinking."

"Then…" Ian studied his cocoa, "what is she?"

"She's a human Pokémon," the man said it as if it was as natural as a sunrise but he elaborated anyway, "she's a Pokémon that evolved into a human. She still has all of her abilities. But she's not a human, or a Pokémon. She's both."

"Oh," the boy nodded, "I get it. That's pretty cool."

"'Pretty cool?'" the man was confused by Ian's reaction, "what are you talking about?"

"Well," Ian took a deep breath, "I think it would be really cool to be able to do some of the things that Pokémon can do. I'd love to be like that!"

The man smirked and actually seemed to be fighting back laughter. Ian wondered what it would be like to be able to shoot fire or water or make the ground shake the way some Pokémon could. At the very least, he knew nobody at school would mess with him. He'd probably be really popular, too…

"Kid," the man shook his head, despite the grin, "you have no idea what the hell you're talking about." He turned back to his desk and picked up his pen, still grinning and shaking his head.

"What?" Ian yelled, "why wouldn't that be cool?"

"You're too young," the man waved a hand, dismissing Ian, "you won't get it, even if I explain it."

"Try me," Ian pouted.

The man sat his pen down a second time and turned back to Ian.

"Look, just because you have all kinds of powers, it doesn't mean that everything will work out perfectly," the man explained, "I mean. Most of the time, those powers won't even help. What are you going to do? Set a bully on fire if he picks on you? I'm sure everybody will love you for that," his mocking voice felt like a slap in the face, to Ian

"And you know what's worse? EVERYONE else wants to know how you can do that. Why can you do that, but they can't? What makes you so special?" he was getting angrier and angrier as he spoke, "so, they'll want it for themselves. They'll try to take it from you. And if they can't, they'll just try to stop you from doing it. Or they'll just hate you for having something that they don't."

"OKAY!" Ian shouted, desperate to disrupt him, "I GET it!"

"Sadly, kid," the man breathed deeply, "I don't think you do." He turned back to the desk.

Setting his mug aside, Ian lied back on the couch, depressed by the man's rant. He tried to think about why a Pokémon would evolve if such a horrible life awaited them. What good was power like that if you couldn't use it? Flurry should have stayed a Glaceon, she would have been so much happier…

Ian heard Flurry's footsteps on the stairs, as she came back down. She held the empty tray underneath her arm. Ian looked up at her, but somehow she wasn't as beautiful as she had been before.

"Something wrong?" she asked, "I heard yelling…"

"Flurry…" Ian started in a hurt, timid voice, "why did you evolve if it's so horrible to be that way?" The boy sounded like he was on the verge of tears and, at first, Flurry didn't know how to react. What had happened?

"Well…" Flurry started, "I evolved because a lot of my friends that were Pokémon had evolved into humans too. And I thought it would be really fun to be human, too."

"But it isn't…" Ian said the words as if he were trying to will the truth to turn into a lie, "…you don't like being human. Right?"

"What?" Flurry gasped, "Of course I like being human. It isn't always easy, but…" Suddenly, she realized what had had happened, "what did you say to him?" She narrowed her gaze at the man at the table.

"What?" the man sighed, "You want me to lie to him, or something? This isn't some stupid fantasy land where everything works out perfectly. He should know that."

"By Arceus," Flurry swore, "he's just a _kid_!" The man didn't reply and didn't look up, but kept writing. Taking deep breaths to calm herself down, Flurry walked over and knelt beside Ian.

"Ian," she said, taking his hand and looking into his eyes, "being a human Pokémon is not a bad thing. I'm _proud_ of who and what I am. It can be hard, sure. Not everybody accepts it. But I promise you that there's a lot of people that do. Don't let this jerk over here convince you otherwise."

"O-okay," Ian stuttered, not sure who to believe anymore.

"Tell you what," Flurry brightened, "there's a big tournament coming up and-"

"We're not going," the man at the table interrupted with an angry snap.

"_You_ don't have to go," Flurry countered, "but the rest of us want to go. And you can't stop us, anyway."

Tournament. That word was music to Ian's ears. As far back as he could remember he had associated it with Pokémon. For a person who was obviously a Pokémon trainer, something must have been horribly wrong for the man at the desk to not want to go.

"Why won't he go?" Ian asked Flurry.

"It's complicated," Flurry sighed.

"If_ she_ doesn't go," the man spoke as if repeating a recording, "then I'm not going either."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Flurry tossed her head side to side, impatiently waiting for him to finish, "like you'll do anything besides brood in a corner if you're around her, anyway."

"Around who?" Ian asked innocently.

"RiverofTears," Flurry sighed, "the girl in that picture." She gestured at the mantel.

Ian stood up to take a closer look at the photo. The girl in the picture was very pretty, but somehow not quite as pretty as Flurry. The most distinguishing feature about her was that her hair was dyed a dark blue down the center of her auburn hair.

"She's pretty," Ian complimented, "were you two close friends?"

"Something like that," the man said impassively.

"You two have a fight, or something?" Ian called.

"Mind your own business, kid," he said, his tone never changing, then after a minute, "…yes, we had a fight. She doesn't want to see me ever again."

"Did you say that you're sorry?" Ian asked.

The man at the desk stopped writing at once. He shut his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. For the first time that night, Ian actually felt sorry for him.

"No," the man said, regaining his brick-wall composure, "but I don't think she would listen, anyway."

"How do you know that?" Ian asked, "Are you a mind-reader, or something?"

"You watch too much TV, kid."

"Well, if you're not a mind-reader, then how are you supposed to know what she'll do?" Ian deduced, "shouldn't you, at least, _try_ to be friends with her, again?"

The man turned in his chair and considered the thirteen-year-old boy in front of him.

Three years had passed since he'd last seen RiverofTears. Three years since he had seen her face. He missed her more than he would ever admit. Would it even be worth going without the chance to see her again?

He looked at the small boy that Flurry had taken in. A new trainer, eager to explore and become the best trainer he could be. The little brat reminded him of himself at that age.

Was this supposed to be some stupid sign? Was a little boy meant to re-kindle what he had been convinced to be over with? It seemed so childish, a boy freezing in the snow coming to bring warmth back into his life. Lunacy.

On the other hand, what was he waiting for, anyway? Would he honestly just sit in this cabin and waste away with his other human Pokémon? They didn't deserve this, after everything they had done for him. Maybe it _was_ time to start again.

"Alright, kid," the man said, at last, "maybe you're right. Maybe it is worth going."

"What?" Flurry was dumbfounded, "you mean, we're seriously going?"

"Yes, Flurry," the man nodded, "we're going."

Flurry jumped a clean two feet into the air and clapped her hands together. She cheered and hopped up and down with absolute delight. She was gone in an instant, up the stairs to spread the good news.

"I guess you're coming, too?" the man asked the little boy.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Ian grinned.

"I can't believe I'm taking advice from a little kid," the man shook his head, "still, being a kid doesn't stop you from being right."

"Cool…" Ian grinned even more broadly, "hey, mister. What's your name, anyway?"

"My name?" the man took a few seconds to respond, almost as if he didn't remember what his name was, "just call me what everybody else calls me, these days. PureBlueSky."

* * *

><p>AN: this scene ended up being a lot longer than expected. it took a while to convince PureBlueSky to go to the tournament. originally he was meant to be the rough equivalent of Lance, but i decided that that was too boring and after some thinking on the relationship between the members of the Four, he became what he is now.<p>

as always, i thank everybody for reading and reviewing. i promise that there is a connection between the prologue and the main storyline and Mewtwo WILL return, relatively soon. in the meantime, i will say that the intensity of the blizzard in this chapter is not natural. i'll leave it to you to guess at why :)


	10. The Power of a Fallen Star

Chapter 9

Maple woke up at dawn, the same as every day, to hear two voices coming from outside. Both of them were male, and neither one was Mark. Alarmed, she sat bolt upright, knocking bits of hay everywhere.

Blinking, she took a few moments to remember where she was. Her parents, for they were still her parents even if she wasn't their daughter, were still asleep, exactly as she had left them. A faint light was starting to come into the barn and she could hear the sounds of other Pokémon as they too started to come awake.

Remembering something important, Maple looked around for some source of water and noticed the trough next to her. Crawling on her hands and knees she made her way over to it. She peered at the water, examining her reflection.

For the most part, she looked fine. Her eyes were a little red, but nothing that looked too noticeable. Satisfied that she wasn't going to worry Mark when he saw her, she stood up to leave.

She heard Hayley's voice join the other two. They were discussing how to divide up the work for the day, changing the water and the hay, watching the Pokémon when they were out in the field, keeping certain ones away from each other and so on. Hayley was saying something about "no adoptions" today, as Maple pushed against the barn door.

Mark wasn't outside at all, which was very disappointing, but Maple was always awake before him. She suspected that he wouldn't be up for another hour or two. In the meantime, Maple wasn't going to be completely alone, this morning.

"Mornin', sweetie!" Hayley called, "Didn't think you'd be up this early!" She strode over to Maple, beaming, "how'd you like sleepin' in the barn?" She waited as Maple gingerly shut the barn door.

"It was…nice," Maple tried to sound convincing as she thought back to the first night in her life where she had cried herself to sleep.

"Your eyes are red…" Hayley said, confused by the contradiction, "you okay?"

"Yeah," Maple nodded much too quickly, "I'm fine. Everything's great."

"Well, okay," Hayley sighed, not convinced in the slightest, but not willing to get too involved either. She gestured back to the two young men coming up to stand behind her. One was a tall, broad-shouldered man with sandy-blond hair, which Maple remembered to be Jeremiah. The other, a slightly shorter man with dark hair, was Cole, Hayley's two assistants.

"Let me introduce ya," Hayley turned to her employees.

"It's okay," Maple smiled, "I remember. Hi, Jeremiah. Hi, Cole."

"Sorry…do we know you?" Jeremiah raised an eyebrow.

"Sorta…" Maple's ears drooped.

"This is Maple," Hayley informed them, "y'all would remember her as Mark's only Leafeon."

"Umm…I'm not following…" Jeremiah shook his head. Cole continued to say nothing, but just appeared to be examining Maple. His eyes scanned Maple from head to toe, carefully noting everything about her.

"She evolved into a person a few days ago," Hayley explained.

"Just like that?" Jeremiah remained dubious, "I didn't even know Pokémon _could_ evolve into people."

"Me neither," Hayley admitted.

"I've heard of it," Cole suddenly spoke, nodding his understanding, "didn't really believe it, though. I always thought it was just some stupid, little kid's fairy tale."

"Yeah…me too," Maple muttered. Apparently humans had their own version of the old story.

"Right," Hayley sensed the need for a subject change, "well, the boys have work to do. Why don't ya go on up to the house and find something to eat? Mark needs to get his lazy arse up, anyways."

"Oh, sure," Maple nodded. She walked off, much more somberly than the day before. Too much had happened, and almost none of it had been good.

_What the hell are you?_

_Am I still your daughter?_

Maybe Mark would be able to cheer her up.

* * *

><p>The quiet, early morning air around the docks at Olivine City only lasted for a few hours, after daybreak. Soon, much too soon, humans would start their work for the day and that beautiful, natural silence would be shattered. The gentle movement of the waves would be drowned out by the blaring horns of ships leaving the dock. The faint squawking of the gulls, with a few Wingull mixed in, would become a blatting chorus, once the ships loaded with garbage left and the birds swooped in to feast on them.<p>

A lone, old man sat in a folding chair, at the end of one of the piers, trying to push such horrible thoughts out of his mind. Instead, he focused on his fishing line bobbing up and down with the current. He tilted his straw hat to keep the sun out of his eyes as it rose off to his right. He only had an hour or two, best to enjoy the silence while it lasted.

Most people that knew him called him Aurum, the Golden Master. Very few people knew his real name anymore. Not that it mattered much to him. The only names that ever really meant anything sounded something like _Father_, _Dad_, or _Grandfather_. His personal favorite had been _Granddaddy_, but nobody called him that anymore.

But, he didn't think about these things as he stared at the ocean. In fact, he was doing his best not to think, at all. He was doing exceptionally well, too, but the game ended when he heard footsteps on the wood, behind him.

They were light steps, which meant light shoes. It wasn't the heavy boots of another fisherman trying to grab some early morning peace and quiet. No, Aurum had a very good idea of who the suit coming down the pier was, and he had a response already prepared.

"Piss off," the old man muttered, "I'm retired and there's nothing you can do to change that."

"Who says I want to change anything?" Alfred Silph smirked, "I just wanted to know how you were doing."

"Checking on me as if I were some patient in a nursing home?" Aurum rolled his eyes, "Sorry, Silph, but those nurses get far more respect from me than what you deserve."

"Berate me all you like, Aurum," Silph came up to stand beside the old man, "I'm not the one torturing myself." Alfred had spent his entire life talking to people. There was an art to it that most people didn't understand. Aurum was a Pokémon trainer after all. Alfred didn't need to convince Aurum of anything. He just needed Aurum to remember.

"Now what are you babbling about?" the hint of genuine interest in Aurum's voice meant progress.

"Well," Alfred started, "is somebody like you really meant for retirement? After all, you're the Golden Master. One of the four strongest Pokémon trainers in the world."

"What of it?" Aurum asked, "I passed on what I learned, to those kids, there's nothing left for me to do."

"Maybe…" Alfred nodded, "but those aren't your only kids, are they?" Aurum's head jerked up and his eyes pierced into Alfred Silph with such intensity that he had to look away. After a moment, the old trainer sighed and looked back out at his line.

"Out here by yourself?" Alfred asked after a few minutes. He sat down on the pier. He wasn't exactly eager to ruin his suit, but he knew how to make friends.

"Which of those idiots sent you?" Aurum ignored Alfred's question.

"Katana," Alfred said, "she was sharpening her claws when I got there."

"Heh, typical," Aurum shook his head, "that one thinks of nothing but fighting. You would think she was death itself."

"She remembers what it's like," Alfred smiled, thinking of when he had watched Aurum and PureBlueSky fight in a semi-final match, in his very first tournament. How incredible would it be to see the two clash again?

"Yeah, but so do I," Aurum spat, "and_ that's_ why I'm not going back."

"You don't believe that," Alfred said matter-of-factly, "come on, you remember. This isn't the first time you've retired. A Pokémon changing into a person changes a lot. Especially in your case when you get a whole new family to take care of. But those kids, PureBlueSky, EdgeoftheEarth and RiverofTears, they got you started again. They breathed life back into you and reminded you what it was like to be young, again.

"I just want you to think about it, Aurum. Just remember those times when the crowd roared and made your heart race. Remember how proud you were when those kids finally managed to make you think that you could lose. Remember what it felt like to see your second family become even stronger before your very eyes. But, most of all, remember what it was like to _win_."

"Are you finished?" Aurum wasn't agitated at all, anymore. Instead, he just sounded tired. Of course he remembered all of that. He thought about it every day. His human Pokémon remembered it, too.

"I suppose I am," Alfred stood up, to leave, "just think about it, Aurum. Would you rather stay here, on the docks, or would you rather come back and feel alive again?" Alfred Silph walked away, leaving Aurum alone on the pier.

The old trainer sighed, staring at his line. Sitting on that pier every morning was probably the most boring thing he ever did in his life. He wouldn't get a bite, he knew it. He hadn't caught a fish in weeks. He was a terrible fisherman…

A ship's horn blared, shattering the peace of the morning. Aurum grimaced at the sound. His time was up. He gathered up all of his equipment and started to leave.

He smiled to himself. Inwardly, he was laughing at the notion of a grandfather still fighting with Pokémon. What a ridiculous concept…

Still, he would've been done long ago if it weren't for his kids. First his son, then his granddaughter, then his students and somewhere along the line, he fought for his _other_ kids, too.

The rest of his family was gone, only his other kids remained. And what was he doing to them, here? Maybe he was old and tired and spent, but they weren't. They were all young, ambitious kids that had their whole lives ahead of them; lives that shouldn't be spent wasting away with an already wasted old man.

_Maybe just one more year_, Aurum sighed. He already knew that his human Pokémon would want to throw a party when they heard the news.

* * *

><p>Mark couldn't quite understand what it was that made Maple act so differently from the day before. She had been bubbly and cheerful almost all day, but not today. Today she was quiet and reserved. Her thoughts were somewhere else.<p>

Was she just getting used to being human more? That was a depressing thought…

No, it must've been the bike gang. She must have still been traumatized over that. Luckily, he had an idea to give her back some confidence.

Mark stood on the edge of the field, by the wooden fence that marked the boundary of the ranch. He and Hayley were swapping Pokéballs, changing around his team in anticipation of the tournament. His team would include his Infernape, Jitter and Eclipse, Maple's Jolteon and Umbreon brothers, Donphan, Heracross, and, of course, Maple. But to be completely ready, there was one more thing he needed to know.

"Maple!" Mark called out behind him. Maple was crouched down by the stream about fifty yards away, on the other side of the fence. She was watching the fish with an absent-minded expression, wondering whether or not fish were bored with their lives.

Sluggishly, she came to her feet and turned towards Mark. So far, he hadn't been able to cheer her up and Maple was becoming more and more depressed as the day went on. She couldn't think of what was wrong. Sure, she had been rejected by her parents and was still coming to terms with being human, but there was something else, too. She felt like something was missing, something important…

"Do you feel up for a battle?" Mark asked when Maple was just on the other side of the fence. He was grinning and tossing Jitter's Pokéball up in the air and catching it, again.

"A battle?" Maple asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Mark encouraged, "if we're going to compete, then I need to know how strong you are."

"Really!" Maple bounded over the four foot high fence without even touching it, "can we, canwe, _canwe_?"

_That's more like it_, Mark thought, relieved, _she's still a Pokémon, after all_.

Hayley, Jeremiah and Cole held back the other Pokémon as Mark instructed Maple to stand at a spot about a hundred yards away from him.

A battle, God, it felt like ages…

"Okay, Maple, you ready?" he called out.

"Yep, I'm ready," Maple happily hopped up and down in a curious manner that distracted Mark for a second, before he sent out Jitter.

After the flash of white light, the Pokémon appeared in front of Mark and let out a cry, bristling his fur. The first test would be against Maple's speed. Jolteon, and certainly Jitter, was one of the fastest Pokémon in existence. If Maple could outrun him…

"Alright…Jitter, Thunderbolt! Maple, Leafblade!" With the commands issued, Jitter charged up the power needed for his electrical attack while Maple darted across the field, moving low to the ground. She was definitely fast, a lot faster than she had been before.

Maple's tail glowed and went rigid and she swiped at the Jolteon, sending it spinning and rolling across the field as the powerful attack hit its mark. Jitter began to stagger to his feet, but in the end he gave up and slumped down onto the ground, defeated. He never even got a chance to launch his first attack.

"Wow," Mark breathed, _holy shit, she's faster than Jolteon!_

"Yes!" Maple cheered, "Take _that_, big brother! I kicked your little ass like it was _nothing_!" Grinning widely, Maple put her arms out and spun in place. _This_ was what she missed. Sweet Arceus, it was _wonderful_…

"Good job," Mark congratulated her as he recalled Jitter, still struggling to comprehend just how much more powerful she had become, "we'll try attack, next. Hercules."

Mark's Heracross appeared and the massive beetle brandished its horn, attempting to threaten Maple. Maple waved at the bug Pokémon, unperturbed by its threats. Mark backed away a few more yards to give them space.

As a grass-type, Maple should've had a distinct disadvantage against the bug-type Heracross. Maple normally wouldn't have the strength to be able to defeat it. However, if her evolution had given her as much power as Kim had suggested…well, there was only one way to find out.

"Maple, Leafblade," he instructed. Without any hesitation, Maple extended her tail and swiped at the huge bug. She hit it directly in its side, sending it rolling through the dirt. It made horribly distressed buzzing noises as dust and dirt flew into the air around it. At last, it came to a stop, but, like Twitch, Hercules did not get back up to continue the fight.

"Wow," Mark nodded, "just…just one more test should do it."

Mark recalled Hercules and tossed out Volcano, his Infernape, the very first Pokémon he had been given. It had been his strongest, but with Maple, that record had been shattered. The flame-ape Pokémon yelled out a challenge at Maple before taking a wide stance and awaiting orders. Volcano had no idea what he was up against.

"Maple," Mark kept his voice as calm as possible, "I know this is going to hurt, but we have to do this. Are you ready?"

"Fire?" Maple's eyes widened as she stared at the Infernape, "I don't like fire…"

"I know," Mark sighed, "just trust me. You'll be okay."

"Okay," Maple nodded, "I trust you. Do it." She cringed in anticipation of the attack.

"Volcano," Mark reluctantly commanded, "Flamethrower."

The Pokémon drew in a deep breath before spewing a stream of fire directly at Maple. She threw up her arms to defend herself, knowing that it would do nothing. The flames washed over her, enveloping her in a red-orange glow. At first, there was no pain, just a strange numbness. Then it suddenly flared all over her and her body screamed at her to get of the flames. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying desperately to keep from screaming. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, she just wanted it to be over. Then, at last, it was. The flames were gone and despite the pain, Maple was still on her feet.

Blinking in shock, Maple checked herself for injuries, but there were none. There were no burn marks anywhere on her and even her dress was still completely intact. The end of her hair was a little singed, but otherwise she was unharmed.

"Damn…" Mark gaped. An attack like that would've dropped a normal Leafeon to the ground, same as Jitter and Hercules, but Maple looked as if it didn't hurt her at all. He recalled Volcano and tottered over to Maple to see for himself.

"It did hurt," Maple admitted, "kinda hurts now, too. Ouch!" Mark was examining her left arm with the same wide-eyed fascination that Maple possessed when she explored the mirror in the bathroom, just two days ago.

"Hayley," Mark called, still distracted by the incredible display he'd just seen.

"Yeah?" Hayley jogged over to them.

"Go get these two patched up," he muttered, handing her the Pokéballs containing Jitter and Hercules.

"Yeah, yeah," Hayley sounded just as awestruck as he felt. After all, she had seen the whole thing, "right away. Don't worry about it."

"Okay, good," he turned back to look at Maple. She was standing in place, smiling, with her hands behind her back, swaying and humming contentedly, to herself. _Faster than Jolteon, more attack power than Infernape, better defenses than an Umbreon. What can't she do_?

* * *

><p>"Hey, Mark, can I talk to you?" Mark was jolted out of his trance by Jeremiah's voice behind him.<p>

"Huh?" Mark blinked as if seeing the young man for the first time, "oh, sure, Jeremiah. Uh…just gimme a second." He released the rest of his team before turning to Maple, "uhh…give us a minute or two." Her cheerful self again, Maple grinned and skipped away. After a second, Mark's Umbreon, Eclipse, chased after her.

"What is it, Jeremiah?" Mark asked, his eyes still on Maple.

"Well, we're friends, right?" he began.

"As far as I know…" Mark raised an eyebrow, lost before the conversation even started.

"Well, you trust me, right?" Jeremiah tried again.

"I…guess…" Mark scratched the side of his head, "what's this about?"

"Alright, screw it, I'm just gonna come out and say it," Jeremiah gave up, "do you know _why_ she evolved? Like, did you ask her?"

"Oh…yeah," Mark nodded, "yeah, I asked her."

"And?"

"And…she doesn't know, either," Mark answered.

"You sure?" Jeremiah pressed.

"Pretty sure…" Mark mumbled, "Why would she lie to me?"

"Look," Jeremiah put up his hands as if telling Mark to stop and think for a second, "the way I figure it, she evolved for a reason. I mean, none of us have ever heard of this happening before, so, why now? Why her?"

"Maybe that just happens to some Pokémon," Mark suggested, "maybe it's just started to happen to all kinds of Pokémon."

"No, you're not listening," Jeremiah hung his head, "alright, let me try saying it this way."

"Go for it," Mark felt too numb to do anything as he waited for Jeremiah to gather his thoughts.

"Well, Cole says that there's this old fairy tale, 'once upon a time' and all that crap, right?"

"Okay," Mark didn't know where this was going, at all.

"But get this," Jeremiah's voice became much more excited as he came to his punch-line, "it's about a little girl Pikachu that meets a Pokémon trainer in the woods. Now, he would normally try to catch a Pikachu, 'cause they're rare and people love 'em, and all that crap. But for some reason, he doesn't catch it, she's too young, he just wants her to stay there and be happy. But he gives her a little ribbon, so, when he comes back, he'll be able to see her again.

"So, anyway, this Pikachu girl falls in love with him, and starts followin' him everywhere he goes, okay? But, he keeps tellin' her to go back and live in the woods. With him, she'd just be fighting all the time, right?

"Well, anyway, one day this Pikachu girl wants to be with him so much that she wishes on a shooting star, or something stupid like that, so that she can turn human. You got that? So, three days later, she turns into a human girl and finds the trainer again, right? And he can't freakin' believe it, but she shows him that ribbon again, and he thinks that she's just so damned hot that they just fall in love right then and there."

"Oh," Mark nodded when Jeremiah finished, "that sounds pretty nice."

"Yeah, but do you get it?" Jeremiah was starting to doubt if Mark had even been paying attention.

"Get what?" Mark asked.

"You're freakin' kidding me…" Jeremiah hung his head, "you don't get it?"

"Well, if you'll just give me a straight answer instead of telling me stories, I might get it," Mark wasn't angry, just hopelessly lost. It was a nice story, maybe even hinted at where the whole human Pokémon thing started.

"Look," Jeremiah gave up, "the way I figure, that girl evolved for a reason. She's about your age and she looks at you with a weird look in her eye that I know I've seen before. Like she's dreamin' about what you're gonna wear when you two get hitched."

"Huh?" Mark's mouth dropped open as understanding started to sink in.

"Dude," Jeremiah sighed, "that girl is in _love_ with you. And I know you're only a kid, but do you know what that means?"

"Oh," Mark had no response to that, at all. He didn't know why. And that was the part that bothered him. _Did_ he know what that meant? He thought he did…but, Maple? In love with him? Something about that didn't sound quite right.

Mark looked over to see Maple playing in the grass with Eclipse. She was laughing with that wonderful musical voice that he had woken up to the day before.

"He remembers me!" Maple called out, "he remembers me like a sister!" She burst out giggling as Eclipse pounced on her and the two rolled in the grass.

"What are you going to do?" Jeremiah's solemn voice came from behind him.

Mark didn't respond, they both knew the answer, but Mark didn't want to say it aloud.

He had no idea.

* * *

><p>AN: there's a lot going on in this chapter. the man who trained the other three members of the Four, the legend story (i will fully explain that, don't worry), and i think this is actually the first time it's been outright said that Maple is in love with Mark. hinted at it, but never outright said it.<p>

so, for exactly how powerful human Pokemon are, i figured that their stats are roughly doubled. but don't take that as concrete, since i'm too lazy to actually work out the calculations for it. besides, it can be better storytelling if i don't follow the formula too rigidly (although it still makes me angry that Pikachu can use electric attacks on ground-types).

as always, thanks for reading! and i am more than happy to hear any suggestions on how to improve the story. so far, not much action, but once we get to the island, it'll pick up a LOT more.

whoops, almost forgot. note that there is NO BLOOD in a battle between a regular Pokemon and a human Pokemon, at least, not for the regular Pokemon.


	11. Clothes for a Human Pokemon

Chapter 10

"Alright, we're going to get going," Mark announced to the others as he shouldered his backpack. Maple stood close by, her cheerful demeanor fully restored. Hayley had managed to convince them to stay for lunch, but Mark didn't want to lose any more time. It would be a long journey to Olivine City and time was running out.

"Already?" Hayley asked, "You're sure you can't stay longer?"

"We have just over a week to get to Olivine," Mark shook his head, "we need to get going."

"It was nice seeing all of you again!" Maple waved around the small dining room at Hayley, Jeremiah and Cole. They each returned her farewell, in turn. Hayley and Jeremiah waved, and Cole simply nodded. Then the two young men stood up to get back to work.

"Say, Mark," Hayley began, a strange, thoughtful look in her eyes, "could I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh…sure," Mark replied. He glanced at Maple before following Hayley back through her living room. Maple started to trot after them, but Hayley told her to wait where she was. Whatever Hayley wanted to talk about, it was private.

"Hey, Mark," Hayley whispered, unsure if Maple could hear or not, "this is going to sound weird, but…well, I should ask anyway."

"O-kay," Mark raised an eyebrow, "what is it?"

"Well…when she evolved, she was…" Hayley bit her lip, there seemed to be no easy way of asking, "was she…wearing any clothes?"

"Huh?" Mark hadn't thought about it. Of course Maple had evolved with clothes on. Although, now that Hayley had brought it up, he wondered why. Her clothes weren't a part of her, right? Why would a Pokemon evolve with clothes on? But he quickly decided it wasn't important and tried to think of something else.

A very distinct image of Maple's underwear flashed in his head, but he pushed that away too.

"Yeah, she was wearing clothes," Mark spoke rapidly, trying to clear the image from his mind, "she was wearing what she has on right now, actually."

"Oh, okay," Hayley nodded, but she continued biting her lip, "so…since you're a boy…"

"Yes…" Mark said after Hayley sounded like she wasn't going to finish the thought.

"I'm guessing you don't have any girl's clothes. Right?"

Mark's eyes went wide as the realization came over him. He had completely forgotten about getting Maple clothing. Did he expect her to go for over a week wearing the same thing?

"Yeah…" Hayley nodded nervously, "I thought so."

"What should I do?" Mark asked, screwing up in his face in confusion. He'd have to go shopping for girl's clothes. He hated shopping for clothes, in general. If he went clothes shopping for Maple…

"It's okay," Hayley put a hand on Mark's shoulder, "I'll go with you. It's just a short walk into town. I can easily get back here before dark. And I can see you off from there, too."

"Thanks," Mark shrugged, "I could use some back-up on this one."

"Anytime," Hayley smiled. She turned to inform Maple, but the Leafeon-girl was already looking at them.

"I need clothing?" she asked, peering down at her dress, "isn't this good enough?" Hayley wasn't really surprised that she had heard everything. However, she _was_ surprised by the confused reaction.

"Well, you're going to need _clean_ clothing," Hayley explained, "and you won't want to wear out what you have now. And you'll definitely need clean underwear." Even with Mark standing right next to her, talking to Maple about it came much easier. But then a different thought occurred to her, "actually, I wonder if you need…" but she caught herself before she finished, "uh…no…never mind. Forget I said anything."

Maple tilted her head to the side, wondering what Hayley had just thought of. But, since she didn't continue, Maple decided that it wasn't that important.

The unfinished, awkward conversation hung in the air and the three were silent for a few more seconds, which felt like hours.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going," Hayley tried to smile and get them all moving. She led the way out of the cabin followed by a bewildered Maple and a reluctant, nervous Mark. This was going to be fun…

* * *

><p>The town closest to the ranch was a small little village called Alden. It was small enough that the population of 226 was posted on the welcome sign. Hayley knew in advance that Maple wasn't going to have a lot of options, but desperate times…<p>

Still, Hayley had had plenty of success in the tiny clothing store and she had known the owners for a long time. They would find something, so long as Maple wasn't too picky.

Unfortunately, that was just what happened. Maple showed little to no interest in clothing. It baffled both of the humans with her, who had each assumed that she was the kind of girl that would obsess over clothing. Mark was noticeably more confused than Hayley, probably because of gender bias, but Hayley didn't have a very strong attachment to clothing, either. After all, there was very little point in wearing a pretty dress if it was just going to get covered in dirt.

Maple, however, took this view to a whole other level. True, her dress was inevitably going to get dirty, but the idea of it happening didn't bother her. So what if her dress got dirty? It was her dress. She should be able to do with it what she wanted. Besides, she'd have to fight in this dress. There was no way she'd be able to keep it clean through a real battle.

Humans had such strange rules about everything…

Throughout the venture, Mark stayed close enough to avoid being left behind, but also maintained a safe distance to avoid having to supply an opinion. He didn't really know why shopping for a girl's clothing made him feel awkward, but something just didn't sit right with him. He didn't belong there and everyone else knew it. Thankfully, aside from the elderly woman at the desk, the store was deserted.

He let Hayley take the lead and instead started to wonder about what Jeremiah had told him that morning; about Maple being in love with him. Was that true? Mark was unsure if any girl he had ever met liked him that way. For Maple to be outright in love with him sounded impossible.

After all, what was he compared to Maple? Maple was pretty, strong and very friendly and she did it all naturally. Mark had known people to train themselves to be like that, but that was just how Maple was. She didn't try to be like that at all. Maybe she was a little naïve, but that was to be expected when you were reborn into a strange world like this one.

But Mark wasn't like that. In fact, he was the direct opposite. He wasn't a shut-in, but he was always on guard around others and it took him a while to really start to trust someone. On top of that, Pokemon battles were one of the few things that he could do where he felt total confidence in himself. That suited him just fine, but sometimes he wondered how much better his life would be if some of what he saw in Maple was more evident in himself.

Even setting aside their vast differences in personality, Mark still couldn't see how Maple could be in love with him. Mark was of the opinion that love didn't just happen overnight. It took time for love to develop and more often than not, it just didn't happen. Did that mean she was in love with him when she was a Leafeon?

But even that sounded like it wasn't true. He didn't really think of himself as an especially skilled or special trainer. What would Maple have seen in him to make her fall in love with him back then?

The questions were piling up and Mark didn't even know what he was thinking about anymore. Still, as he watched Hayley and Maple wander through the store searching for something for Maple to wear there were too many signs that he couldn't ignore. Maple looked at him for advice much more than what seemed necessary. She valued his opinion more than her own and, in fact, she was reluctant to make a decision without his approval.

Of course, there was more to it than that. It was the look in her eyes, the way she waited for him to catch up when he fell behind and half a dozen other signals. Mark would have to be stupid to not notice. She didn't just like him. She was downright, head-over-heels, puppy-dog in love with him.

Mark felt overwhelmed by the reality of it. What could he do? What _should_ he do?

After half an hour of wandering around the store, Hayley was ready to just give up. Nothing caught Maple's attention for very long. She examined everything in the same curious manner she had had before, but she always lost interest. Hayley was starting to wonder if that was a side-effect of originally being a Pokemon.

In that case, she would probably show the most interest in something that reflected her old self. That would explain the light-tan dress that she had been…born with. But that also reduced their chances of finding anything. Most of the patterns in the store were bright pinks, yellows and other floral colors. The kind of colors that would've made Hayley feel more like a girl, but were a far cry from the rough-and-tumble farm gear she wore.

By the grace of God, for the humans, and Arceus, for the Leafeon-girl, they stumbled across a set of three dresses that were nearly identical to Maple's own. They were simple and they were cheap, but they had tried everything else and nothing seemed to satisfy her.

Hayley wanted to kiss them. And Maple, at last, showed genuine interest. Hayley checked for consistent sizing, and once again got extremely lucky. She then piled Maple's new, but still very small, collection of clothing into Mark's arms.

"Make yourself useful," she giggled, "and look alive, for crying out loud." Sighing, she turned back to Maple, "are you sure you don't want something a bit nicer or more colorful? I'd love to be able to wear some of these dresses, but I'll ruin them in no time flat."

But Maple shook her head and shrugged, "I like them, though. They're just…me." Hayley smiled at the simplicity of the statement. To her, light tan didn't quite fit with Maple's cheerful, energetic personality. But, on the other hand, she was open and gentle and the tan reflected that side of her just fine.

"Alright," Hayley nodded, "but if you want to try something else, you'll still have plenty of room in your closet for more."

"I have a closet?" Maple asked, turning to Mark.

"Uhh…"

"Never mind," Hayley interrupted, "let's see…what's next?" Looking around the store she remembered, and a devilish grin started to spread across her face. She bit her lip to hide it from Mark and pulled Maple off to the side.

"Do you want to screw with Mark?" she whispered, glancing back to make sure Mark was out of ear shot. He had a suspicious look on his face, but he was also much too distracted with other thoughts to pay very close attention.

"I don't know what that means…" Maple admitted and her ears drooped a little at the shame of it.

"Hmm…" Hayley thought for a minute about how to explain, "do you want to play a joke on Mark?"

"Umm…okay," Maple was still confused, but at least she was willing to play along now.

"Follow me," sliding away through the aisles, Hayley made her way over to the lingerie section, followed closely by Maple. Mark also followed but stopped short when he realized where they were going.

"You have to come here," Hayley called back teasingly.

"I don't think I have to," Mark responded.

"Sure, you do."

"Isn't this why you're here?" Mark's eyes were wide as he scanned the rows of unmentionables.

"Stop being a baby," Hayley teased further, "we don't freak out over your underwear."

"That's because my underwear looks like a pair of shorts," Mark explained.

"Oh, really?" Hayley didn't bother to hide her grin as she poked her head out to look at Mark, "well, then we all know what kind _you_ wear."

"Shut up," Mark groaned, "and be quick, will you?"

Still grinning widely, Hayley walked through rows of bras and panties with a confused Maple close behind. She looked from item to item, weighing its potential. At last, she selected a black thong and handed it to Maple.

"Show that to Mark and ask if he likes it," she whispered. Maple peered at it. It seemed awfully tiny. She wondered what good it would be if anyone wore it. She didn't know why Hayley had handed this to her, but whatever she was up to she was having a lot of fun.

Maple did as she was told and returned to Mark, who was shuffling his feet and staring at the ground.

"Do you like this?" Maple asked meekly as she held the tiny strip of cloth in front of her. She peered at him as his eyes went wide and his face turned a bright shade of red. Even though she still had no idea what was going on, she still wondered what his opinion was.

"Uhh…umm…uhh…" Mark's mind raced with possibilities on how he could possibly escape this horrible setup, but nothing seemed valid.

He was not prepared for this! It was too soon!

Hayley's laughter was an evil cackle and she was doubled over with her hands on her knees. Her face was turning darker and darker shades of red and Maple started worrying if she would be alright.

"You suck," Mark muttered.

"I'm sorry," Hayley gasped, finally gaining control of herself after a full minute of laughing, "oh, man, my side hurts now, but it was worth it to see the look on your face. I couldn't resist."

"I'm confused," Maple admitted, peering at the flimsy piece of fabric that remained in her hands.

"Don't worry about it," Hayley still fought back spouts of giggling, "c'mon, let's put this back and get you some real underwear." Still snickering, she led Maple back into the lingerie.

* * *

><p>Mark took in the outside air in big, deep breaths as the relief of escaping the clothing store began to sink in. He refused to look at what Hayley had selected for Maple's underwear, which Hayley only insisted on so she could watch him squirm. She had included the black thong, which may or not actually fit Maple, but it would be the perfect souvenir for the occasion. She wondered how long it would be before Mark discovered it. Despite the fact that he had paid for it, she suspected it would be a while.<p>

"You know you're going to have to wash those, right?" Hayley grinned.

"Yes, I know," Mark sighed, "I'm not stupid."

"Yeah, I'll give you that," Hayley said.

"So, I guess this is where we split up," Mark began, "thanks. For everything."

"No problem," Hayley shook her head, "I was happy to do it." Mark chose not to point out that she was happy to do it at his expense.

"I'll miss you, Hayley," Maple sniffed as she hugged the older girl.

"Hey, hey," Hayley hugged her back, "you'll see me, again. You are always more than welcome at the ranch. Mark's part owner, after all." Even with this reassurance, Maple was slow to let go of Hayley. She had become one of Maple's few human friends and that felt really special.

"We'll stop by once we get back," Mark promised.

"You'd better," Hayley pointed a finger at him, "and call more often. I don't like not hearing from you, you know."

"Yes, Mom," Mark teased.

"Shut up," Hayley flushed before she hugged Mark herself, "just have fun and don't fight too hard."

"You really are more like a mom than a partner," Mark hugged her back, "and don't you work too hard."

"You might as well tell grass not to be green," Hayley shook her head as she pulled back from her partner, "now, get out of here. I thought you were on a tight schedule."

"We are," Mark nodded, "come on, Maple. Let's get going."

Without looking back, Mark started off. With Maple close behind, they started heading west, towards Olivine City.

Hayley watched them go until they were out of sight. She knew she shouldn't have to worry, but knowing never stopped her. They were good kids. They would be fine. Still, she had watched Mark disappear on the horizon before, but there was something off this time. Something was changing and it wasn't just because of the Leafeon-girl at his side.

The wind around her suddenly picked up and she noticed how unusually dark it was. She looked up to see the sun going in and out of a set of darkened clouds. She didn't remember hearing any reports about a storm. The morning had been nothing but clear skies, too.

Hayley wondered if she should wait in town for the storm to pass, but there was no thunder or lightning. Soon the clouds were directly overhead and not a single drop of rain fell. Then, just a few minutes later, the clouds broke up and dissipated as if they never were.

_That's strange_, Hayley thought, _never seen that before_. But as she headed for home she soon forgot about it.

* * *

><p>AN: yep, that just happened.<p>

the overall light-hearted tone of this chapter is a little out of place compared to the ones around it. still, if this is going to happen at all, it needs to happen now.


	12. Questions Left Unanswered

Chapter 11

The only people that knew that Serenade, the singer in the Shooting Starmie bar in Vermilion City, was really a human Pokémon were the same people that came to watch her every single night she performed. It was amazing how unnecessary it was for Serenade to hide what she was. But that was part of the gift of being a human Jynx, nobody could tell the difference.

Everyone that looked at her assumed that her purple skin and naturally ruby red lips were simply make-up and part of her persona. They were easily overlooked when someone looked into her piercing blue eyes or gazed at her flowing blond hair or the aura of elegance that seemed to waft off of her. She was a proud, beautiful woman and no one was more proud of her than her trainer; Cara.

She was entranced, as always, by Serenade's heavenly voice. She closed her eyes and let herself drift away as the diva sang.

To her right, Sparks, a human Luxray brooded with his head on the table. With no unusual ears to give him away, all Sparks had to do was tuck his tail into his jeans and he was exactly the same as the rest of the bar patrons. He wore a dark blue jacket that had yellow and sky-blue stripes along the sleeves and a Pokéball design on his chest. He started bashing his head against the table, which shook Cara out of her trance.

"Now, what?" Cara moaned.

"He's still depressed that he can't play bass," Ebony, Cara's human Honchkrow, smirked, lifting up her feathered fedora to take a look at Sparks as he attempted to give himself a concussion. Like Sparks, she concealed her true identity. Her black wings were folded and tucked safely away, inside her clothes.

She wore a black suit jacket with a ruffled red trim. Her black short-skirt had a small train made of white linen and was similarly trimmed in red. Her knee-high black boots had an inch and a half high heel. She held a small fan and drank from her third gin and tonic with an air of sophistication that might even be overbearing. Sparks thought she had a rod up her ass.

"And you wish you could sing, bitch," Sparks countered.

"You _ignorant_ fool," Ebony clutched her chest, as if wounded, "you know full well that _I_ can't go up there. Why, I'd get stage fright!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sparks mumbled, tossing his head around on the table, "I've heard you sing in the shower. You're lucky we don't have to keep replacing the glass."

"Will you two calm down?" Cara sighed, "It's their last song."

Serenade wasn't alone on stage. The Dugtrio triplets Mano, Duon and Trine each took a separate instrument. Trine played drums, Duon the bass guitar, and Mano took the lead guitar. The triplets were completely identical, except by their height. Trine was the shortest, Mano the tallest and Duon somewhere in between. They dressed very plainly in tan shirts and pants, but their wiry forms were fairly muscular. They all played their instruments incredibly well. Especially when one considered the fact that they didn't have hands until just a few months ago.

With a final cymbal clash, the song came to an end and applause erupted. Trine put his mouth to the microphone and shouted, "Thank you, thank you! We are Serenade and the Triplets, as always speak to our manager, Cara - the lovely lady sitting right over there – about purchasing a CD! We will be out of town for the next few weeks, so, be sure to grab one! We will be sticking around for one last victory drink, then we are out! See you in a month!" The applause started again and Serenade took a few final bows. She waited for the clapping to completely cease before stepping down to join Cara and the others while the triplets packed up their equipment.

"Thank, Arceus," Sparks opened his hands to the sky, in thanks, "can we go now?"

"Thank you so much for your support, Sparks," Serenade grinned. She leaned in and kissed him on the forehead, grasping his head on either side to make sure he wouldn't struggle. After a second, his eyes closed and he slumped forward onto the table, sound asleep.

"Well, _I_ thought you sounded lovely," Ebony complimented the singer as Serenade sat down next to her, across from the sleeping Sparks.

"Was the Lovely Kiss really necessary?" Cara asked, peering at her unconscious Luxray. Ebony and Serenade looked at each other for just a brief moment before turning back and simultaneously saying "yes."

"Why does he hate it here so much, anyway?" Serenade asked.

"He doesn't think too highly of people," Cara admitted.

"I can't imagine why," Ebony shook her head, "I mean, they love you." She turned to Serenade.

"I think he's just afraid of what they would do if they knew the truth," Cara looked around the crowded bar. Nearly a hundred people were crammed into the area. None of them knew just how close they were to real human Pokémon. What would they do, if they knew? Cara could order them all to destroy the bar, on a whim, and there was nothing they could do to stop her. Not that she would, but sometimes it was nice to indulge in a little bit of fantasy when things weren't going well.

"People just aren't very good at acceptance, honey," Serenade patted Ebony's hand.

"Most of them, anyway," Cara pointed out, "some are actually very good at it." She smiled at the two. Serenade closed her eyes and smiled back, uneasily. Ebony uncrossed and re-crossed her legs and took a sip of her drink.

"Excuse me," a strange voice, that inexplicably made Cara's skin crawl, came from behind her, "I was curious about something."

Cara turned to see a balding, middle-aged man standing behind her. He wore a small pair of spectacles and a gaudy lavender suit that made him look like a piece of grape bubble-gum stuck to the wall. He grinned so widely he seemed to be squinting at her.

"Can I help you?" Cara asked, not hiding the fact that she had no desire to help this man with anything.

"Well, I was watching your band, and I couldn't help but notice the make-up design that you employ," his eyes continually darted over to glance at Ebony's legs while he spoke, "I say, you seem to model yourselves after Pokémon, but there's no hint of such a thing in your band name."

"What do you mean, exactly?" Cara was on guard in an instant. The man knew something. No one noticed. Ever. Even if they did, it would just be Serenade that would stand out. The triplets, on the other hand, were as plain as anyone and had almost no features that suggested what they really were. Cara even knew other human Pokémon trainers that had no idea they were a Dugtrio.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken," the man said coyly, "your singer there is meant to be a Jynx. This one," he waved towards the spiky mound on top of Sparks' head, "I believe is a Luxray, without the tail, of course. The lovely lady in the hat reminds me of a Honchkrow. Which I believe leaves your band cast as a Dugtrio."

"I suppose you're right," Cara attempted to sound bewildered, but she wasn't sure if she succeeded, "we do resemble Pokémon in a sense, don't we? Although, you didn't say what I am."

"Oh, I apologize," the man seemed pleased that she had noticed his oversight, "I believe you would be an elegant Persian."

"Uh-huh," Cara very seriously doubted that, considering she was wearing black, "that's…awfully…_nice _of you. Is there anything else I can do for you, mister…?"

"Edwards, dear," Cara physically recoiled when he called her 'dear,' "my name is Richard Edwards and I suppose I'd like to buy a CD, for my niece."

"Absolutely," Cara smiled as she tried to stab him to death with her voice. She produced a CD, one of several dozen that probably wouldn't be sold, from her bag and handed it to the bubble-gum stain. The man cheerfully paid and left, eyeing Ebony's legs as much as possible while he did so. Ebony was too drunk to care, much less notice. Then, not a moment too soon, the man was gone, favoring his right leg as he walked.

"Sweet a sale!" the voice of one of the triplets came from the direction of the stage.

"I doubt it's what he really wanted," Cara said. She turned to the triplets hauling what pieces of equipment they could carry.

"Who was he, then?" Mano, the tallest of the triplets asked, his guitar was in a case, strung across his back.

"You remember the rumors that Alex told us about?" Cara leaned into the table, talking just loud enough to be heard over the noise of the bar, "the ones about Pokémon thieves?"

"I remember," Ebony nodded and the others agreed, "The Abductors, or something pathetic like that. Kidnapping human Pokémon for experiments or something."

"Yeah," Cara nodded, "they're the ones. But nobody knows where they're from, who leads them, or even what they really call themselves."

"Wait," Duon shook his head and leaned into the table over Sparks' head, "if they're supposed to be so secretive and discreet, why did that guy just come right up and ask about us? He must've known we'd get suspicious, right?"

"Right," Cara nodded, "he should've."

"So, is he stupid or crazy?" Ebony laughed, but no one else joined her.

"Crazy, probably," Cara bit her lip, trying to think of what the man stood to gain by revealing himself.

"He's probably just screwing with us," Sparks mumbled, finally coming awake.

"Welcome back, dear," Ebony leaned forward, grinning, "miss us?"

"I hate you," Sparks grumbled, "I want you to know that."

_Maybe he's right_, Cara thought,_ hopefully_ _he's right_.

* * *

><p>Mark prodded at the fire, making it spit and crackle as untouched sections of the wood came in contact with the flames. It was almost midnight and he thought that he probably should've let the fire simply burn out hours ago. He should've just gone to sleep and stopped worrying. But that wouldn't work and he knew it.<p>

Across the fire from him, Maple slept in the same curled-up position as always. Refusing a sleeping bag, she had said that she was more comfortable lying on the bare ground. She used her hands like a pillow, her legs lightly tucked against her body and her tail curling against the back of her legs. As Mark watched her, she turned over to her opposite side, so that she was facing Mark, and slid nearer towards the warmth of the fire.

_She looks so peaceful_, he thought.

Three days had passed since they had left the ranch and Jeremiah had told him that Maple was in love with him. Since then, they had been traveling along Route 38 and 39 heading towards Olivine City. In just another day they would reach it. And from there, Himitsu Island, and hopefully some answers.

Maple mumbled something, in her sleep, and her ears twitched a few times. She was dreaming.

She had been a girl for almost a week, now, but Mark could still picture her as a Leafeon, lying like that.

Questioning what Jeremiah had said, Mark thought back to those first few days. He remembered how she had nuzzled against him for attention. Had she been in love him back then, too? Probably. Maybe she didn't fully realize what she was doing, but Mark knew what it was.

If her feelings for him had been the trigger, then was it that first morning when she had felt just so overcome with it that she evolved? No, it went farther back than that.

Maple had mentioned the night they had spent on the cliff watching the sunset over Eterna City. Actually, she hadn't just _mentioned_ it; she remembered it as a wonderful fantasy. That had been nearly a year and a half ago. Had she been in love with him back then, too?

Suddenly, he was thinking back on every instance where he had shown Maple any sort of affection. Had he done something special to make Maple fall in love with him? Maybe he had treated her with a little more affection than most of his Pokémon. But was it enough to make her fall in love with him? No, that couldn't be true.

"Mommy…" Maple whispered in her sleep, startling Mark, "tell me the story again. Just one more…" She trailed off and slipped back into the dream.

Mark watched her sleep, trying to keep his mind from wandering. He was over-thinking things, of course. Maple probably didn't even know the difference between what she felt now and when she had been a Leafeon. Could she even have been capable of loving him when she was a Leafeon?

That was an interesting question. It was far more complicated than what Mark wanted to think about. He was busy trying to decide…wait, what was he trying to decide?

He shook his head and took a deep breath. Okay, so, Maple was in love with him. Did he believe that? Yes, he did. In fact, there was almost no question about it.

Was that what made her evolve? Possibly. But there was more to it than that. After all, she had been in love with him for a long time. What made her suddenly change? He would have to think about that.

But those weren't all the questions that needed answering. He had been avoiding the most important one. He had already asked a question that mirrored it. "Was Maple in love with him?" Yes, he had answered that.

But there was another question that was almost exactly the same. It was a partner question that always followed the first half. He had skipped over it and started worrying about minor details; details that ultimately meant nothing. He avoided it because he was afraid of the answer; afraid because he had never asked himself this question before.

Was he in love with Maple?

There it was, finally given a voice. He had asked it, now it needed an answer.

"It's okay," Maple mumbled in her sleep again, her feet twitched slightly, "I'll protect…"

Mark had to admit, Maple was pretty. The prettiest girl he had ever seen. If she even was a girl. Caught in between two worlds, exactly what was she?

No, he was avoiding the question, again. Picking apart useless details and making excuses. He rubbed his forehead with his palm and closed his eyes. When he opened them, Maple was still there, sleeping serenely across from him.

Mark watched her slow, steady breathing, turning the question over and over in his mind, unsure of how to approach it. What he thought didn't matter. He needed to know how he felt. Yes, that was it. How did he _feel_?

When Maple had been a Leafeon she had been his favorite. Why? Did some part of him foresee this happening? Was she in love with him now because he had been in love with her then?

"Dammit!" Mark whispered, pounding his fist into the ground, hurting his hand. The pain spread slowly, turning into a dull ache. It blocked out other thought for a few moments as the sensation spread. He concentrated on that, it was real. The pain was real and so was the warmth from the fire and the cool night air around him and the smell of the burning wood. He concentrated on those sensations. They were physical sensations that his body reacted to because it _made _him feel it.

And when he looked at Maple, he felt something real, too. It was a feeling that wasn't the same as before. But he didn't know what it was, just yet. Was it love? Maybe…but not like Maple's. It was just starting to grow. It had barely even sprouted. It didn't need attention, it needed time.

Mark sighed and closed his eyes. There was nothing he could now. He could only wait and see what happened. He let the fire die down before spreading his sleeping bag out where he had been sitting.

Lying down across from Maple, he watched her sleep, moonlight lighting up the curves of her body. Sighing, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

* * *

><p>AN: i'm not really sure if i like Cara that much. she's incredibly similar to Kim, at the moment, so i'm not completely sure if i want to keep her or not. i do love her group of human Pokemon, though. they're awesome.<p>

this is also the first time i advanced the story by so much in one shot. we need to get to this frackin' tournament. there's still some issues to work out, but we'll make it.


	13. The Darkness on the Horizon

Chapter 12

There were four days left until the tournament started when Mark and Maple arrived in Olivine City. Mark had been to the busy port city many times before and, just like Ecruteak City, had collected another gym badge to add to his collection. But that time was gone and there were much more important issues to worry about.

They were each lost in their own separate worlds filled with worry. Mark was still questioning his feelings for Maple, while Maple, though Mark's "test" had lifted her spirits a little, was back to worrying about who and what she was. Both of them were eagerly looking forward to the tournament as a means of escape from whatever ghosts and misery were chasing them.

The problem was; Mark had no idea how to find the boat that would take them to Himitsu Island. Their search had slowly degenerated to asking random sailors, all of whom stated that they had never heard of such a place as Himitsu Island, and why the hell were they bothering them, anyway? After all, the stupid kids seemed to be playing some sort of make-believe game anyway, what with Maple's ears and tail and all. Honestly, just what did they want them to do?

That question ate away at Mark's self-confidence more and more as the day wore on. Did Himitsu Island really exist? The only proof they possessed was Kim's word, and she had left them long ago. Now they were on their own, and things were getting worse by the minute.

Mark had just finished asking a particularly ill-tempered (and probably drunk) sailor if he had ever heard of a place called Himitsu Island when a particularly cheerful blond boy, roughly Mark's age came dashing down the docks towards them.

"There you are!" the boy yelled, and Maple turned to Mark, looking for recognition and seeing none. The boy had wavy blond hair and a pointed nose and stood an inch taller than Mark. He tackled Mark, but not hard enough to knock him over, and lifted him into the air, spinning him around. Unsure of what to do, Mark went limp and waited for it to be over.

"Mark, old buddy!" the boy beamed, setting Mark on his feet again, "you remember me?" The boy's head bobbed up and down slightly, as if trying to answer for him.

"Umm…" Mark searched his memory and came up empty, "…sorry?"

"No big deal!" the boy slapped Mark on the back hard enough to temporarily knock the wind out of him. As Mark regained his composure the boy went on, "still not the most athletic guy ever, I see." The boy laughed.

"Umm…" Maple had been unsure of how to proceed, "who are you?" She asked out of curiosity and innocence. Mark was beginning to believe that talking to Maple was like talking to an innocent five-year-old girl. A very, very pretty, and…curvy…five-year-old girl…

"Damn, Mark," the boy shook his head in disbelief, "didn't think I'd see you with something this hot after this long…" Unaccustomed to compliments from anyone besides Mark, Maple raised an eyebrow and inched closer to her trainer.

"Who are you, already?" Mark's patience snapped as the day's five hours of walking in circles caught up with him.

"Wow, you really don't remember, huh?" seeing Mark's expression of anger and annoyance the boy didn't wait for an answer, "c'mon! I'm Lionel! Your best buddy and next door neighbor!"

Suddenly, Mark did remember. The energetic Lionel had chased him all over Sinnoh for the better part of a year before Mark had taken up Eevee breeding. Lionel challenged him on occasion, but as far as Mark remembered (which was now questionable) he always won. One could say that they were rivals, but Mark had since moved on.

"Oh, right…" Mark consented, "Lionel, I remember you, now." Maple switched her puzzled gaze to Mark. Maple didn't remember Lionel because she was too young. She hadn't been around to see him and Mark certainly didn't regale her with stories when she was a Leafeon.

"Yeah, yeah, awesome," Lionel nodded, "so, what're you doing in Olivine City? Long way from Sinnoh, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah," Mark said slowly, "it's kind of a long story, but, eh, what the hell? It's worth a shot. Have you ever heard of a place called Himitsu Island?"

Lionel's eyes widened. He stooped forward, putting his arms around Mark and Maple's shoulders, drawing them closer. Maple's eyes shifted nervously back and forth between the two boys. She didn't like Lionel touching her one bit.

"So, you really are a human Leafeon, huh?" Lionel's intensely blue eyes held Maple's gaze. Human Leafeon, those words represented what she was, but they didn't say enough. They said what she was, but not who she was. Still, unable to do anything else, she nodded, answering the gaze of those fierce eyes.

"Well, then," Lionel released them and stood up, "guess I'd better take you to our captain, then." Without elaborating, Lionel turned on his heel and walked off, taking long strides and whistling as he went.

Mark and Maple turned and looked at each other, trying to read the thoughts of the other.

_I think he's nuts_, Maple's eyes said.

_Do we have a choice?_ Mark's responded. He shrugged and followed his "old friend." After a few more seconds, Maple trotted to catch up and afterwards stayed very close to Mark.

The boat that Lionel stopped in front of was rather unique, at least Mark thought so. It was something of a small cruise ship, maybe meant for expeditions into deep jungles or some other adventure. At any rate, Mark thought it could hold roughly twenty people for a few days. Their rooms might closely resemble a closet, but after getting berated by sailors all day, Mark was ready to settle for a room where he was required to stand. On the other hand, he didn't really want Maple to suffer through that…

"What d'you think?" Lionel asked, his mouth threatening to split his head in half like a cantaloupe sliced through the middle.

"Quaint," Maple muttered, her gaze slowly moving from one end of the boat to the other. Mark looked over at her. He was unaware that Maple knew words like that, given her short time as a human.

"Ahoy!" a tall, muscular man with dark skin approached the trio admiring his ship, "you kids going to Himitsu Island?"

"Sure am!" Lionel announced as Mark glanced over at Maple, who was waving timidly.

"Well, then you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning," the man's deep voice felt like it echoed within Mark's mind rather pleasantly, "last chance if you really want to go."

Mark bought a ticket and the ship captain waived Maple's fee. Whether that was because she was an actual human Pokémon or some other reason, Mark wasn't sure. At the very least, they were finally making progress.

"Well," Lionel cracked his neck and stretched, "guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." He left without explaining, leaving Mark and Maple to find the Pokémon Center by themselves.

The next morning, the two boarded the ship, halfway hoping that Lionel wouldn't show. However, his voice sounded from the bow of the ship and he hugged them both, edging a little too closely to Maple's chest to be comfortable. He insisted that they stay close together, but Mark and Maple promptly ignored him and began to explore the ship and meet new people the first instant they could seize to slip away.

Around a dozen or so people were milling about the ship's deck, waiting for the ship to shove off. There were people of all sorts, including two families with children, but all of them instantly recognized what Maple was. Whispers followed her every step, as she passed.

Mark and Maple were both disappointed that most of the passengers on the ship were not human Pokémon. It was possible that they were all hidden away inside their Pokéballs, but the passengers' reactions suggested that they had none of their own and were going to Himitsu Island simply to watch the tournament. Exactly what motivated each of them to go, Mark could only guess at.

As they neared the ship's stern, a boy that must have been only nine or ten years old trotted up to meet them. He stopped in front of Maple, peering at her. His blue-green eyes scanned her from top to bottom at least three or four times in quick succession, evaluating her.

"Umm…can we help you?" Maple asked, becoming more and more uncomfortable.

"Eric! What are you doing?" A woman's voice came from the stern.

The woman was clearly a human Pokémon, although exactly what kind wasn't immediately obvious. She wore a long, elegant dress that was an earth-toned brown, except for the skirt, which was a leafy-green. In fact, the skirt appeared to be_ made_ of leaves, the kind one would see growing out of exotic plants in a jungle. Her chestnut-brown hair was covered with a semi-transparent veil of the same color green as the skirt. Gentle brown eyes greeted them with a maternal warmth.

Mark could have made any number of guesses about what she had been before her evolution until he saw her necklace. The golden jewels on it had an odd shape that resembled bananas, of all things. At last, something clicked in Mark's mind and he realized he was looking at a human Tropius. Maple, on the other hand, knew by instinct.

"Sorry, Fernelia," the boy called back, "but this guy has a human Leafeon! Come say 'hi!'"

"How do you do?" Fernelia put a hand on Eric's shoulder and extended the other to Maple. Confused by the gesture, Maple extended her own hand, but did not shake Fernelia's. Instead, she held her hand suspended next to Fernelia's, wondering what might happen next. After a few awkward seconds, Fernelia took Maple's hand and shook it, and understanding dawned on Maple's face.

"Uh, my name's Mark," Mark began the introductions, "this is Maple. We actually didn't know about the tournament until about two weeks ago. So, we're both kinda new to this whole thing."

"Me too," Eric agreed, "some guy in a suit came to the house a month ago. It sounded kinda cool, so, we decided to go."

"And here we are," Fernelia politely agreed, placing her other hand on Eric's shoulders in that same maternal gesture, "oh, you should meet my husband. Tsunami!"

_Husband?_ Mark and Maple thought simultaneously.

Tsunami turned out to be a rugged-looking human Swampert. He wore nothing more complicated than a pair of worn blue-jeans, a white t-shirt, and a blue jacket with yellow elbow patches. The ridged ears and back sail of a Swampert made identifying him much easier than Fernelia. However, it was his sky-blue hair and gentle, yellow eyes that caught Mark's attention.

"Hey, how's it going?" Tsunami asked casually as he walked up and put his arm around Fernelia's shoulders. The two of them standing with Eric made the group look like a family photo that could be framed and put on a wall. Mark thought it was a little ridiculous, though, since these two couldn't possibly be Eric's parents…right?

"Think we can take 'em?" the boy asked his "father."

"I dunno," Tsunami joked, "this one looks pretty vicious…" He grinned at Maple and Maple grinned right back.

"I am," she declared proudly. Tsunami was actually a little unnerved by the look in her eyes.

"There you guys are!" When Lionel approached, this time, he ignored Mark and just put his hands on Maple's shoulders. Startled, she jumped and spun around reflexively, sending him sprawling on top of the deck.

"Who's he?" Tsunami nodded at the face-planted Lionel.

_Good question_, Mark thought. A second later Lionel sprang to his feet and regarded the three newcomers.

"'Sup?" Eric greeted.

"Eric, where are your manners?" Fernelia scolded, "I apologize. My name is Fernelia, this is my husband Tsunami and this is our adopted son, Eric."

"He's _your_ son?" Lionel raised an eyebrow and grimaced.

"Well, actually, he's our trainer," Tsunami admitted, "we just look after him, too."

"Ah, gotcha," Lionel nodded, feigning understanding and doing a poor job of it.

"Hey, you're not a trainer, are you?" Eric asked, "'cause you should let 'em out if you have any."

"Suppose I just don't wanna show 'em off before the tournament gets going?" Lionel countered.

"Then you're a jerk for making 'em stay in there," Eric argued.

"Eric, stop this," Fernelia was appalled by her son's behavior.

"No, no, he's right," Tsunami nodded, "Pokéballs are built for Pokémon, not human Pokémon."

Suddenly, Mark realized that he and Maple had somehow ended up across from each other, with an argument building between them. Maple's big, brown eyes looked forlornly at him, unsure of what to do. Mark jerked his head in the direction of the bow and the two began to slowly back away from the growing storm.

At last, the whistle blew, signaling the ship's departure. Mark and Maple stood off to the right of the bow, leaning against the railing, and watched as the ship slowly turned and headed out to sea, leaving Olivine City behind.

Mark didn't notice the old man sitting next to them until the piers at the end of the bay were out of sight. The man wore a straw hat and Mark thought he heard him mutter something like "I hate fishing" as he walked away.

"What do you think?" Mark asked.

"About them?" Maple glanced back, "I like them. They really seem to care about each other. Like a real family."

"Yeah, me too," Mark nodded, "what about Lionel?"

"I don't know…" Maple hung her head, "he's weird."

"You've just never met him before," he encouraged, "give him time. He's not a bad person."

"Okay," Maple sighed, they stood there silently for a moment before she continued, "so, we're really going?"

"Yep, we're really going," Mark nodded, "you ready?"

"Absolutely," Maple grinned. Gently, she leaned against Mark's shoulder and closed her eyes. Bewildered, Mark stayed where he was, wondering if he should do more. Should he put his arm around her? Should he say something else? But after a few more seconds, Mark realized that doing nothing was just fine with Maple. Trying to relax, he looked out at the ocean towards the island that he couldn't yet see.

* * *

><p>The Reverse World. It was a parallel world to the one that humans called the "real" world. It was a place that defied all the so-called rules that held the "real" world together. Gravity was a suggestion, space a rumor, and time was an afterthought. It was a world that would rip apart an ordinary person or Pokémon the instant they entered.<p>

However, Mewtwo hadn't simply entered. He had ripped a hole through it and forced his way in through sheer willpower. His psychic powers gave him form and grounded his existence. In truth, it was easier to enter the Reverse World than it had been to speak with Arceus.

But it wasn't Arceus that he sought here. At least, not fully.

The serpentine form of Giratina glided through the "skies" of the Reverse World toward Mewtwo. Giratina was the only Pokémon capable of surviving in this world and was believed to have created it. However, Mewtwo knew better. The Reverse World was not its home, but its prison.

**Why have you come here**? Giratina's dark, shadowy voice echoed through Mewtwo's mind.

_To release your shackles, Giratina_, Mewtwo responded, _when the universe was made, three came together to form one. Dialga, master of time, Palkia, master of space, and you, Giratina, the master of shadows. _

**Don't bother me with history, mortal**, Giratina's voice swatted at Mewtwo's like a hand swatting away a fly, **what you call legend, I called reality. You read what I remember**.

Giratina's physical form wound back and forth over Mewtwo's head. It weaved in and out tracing designs that only it knew the meaning of.

_Then_ _you remember what was done to you_, Mewtwo reminded the creature, _you remember how they banished you back to your own realm, never to leave._

**Yes**, Giratina snarled, **I remember. I still remember that day. I remember their disappointment, their mistrust, but most of all, I remember their fear.**

_Then join me_, Mewtwo proposed, _join me and take back what is rightfully yours. A place on the surface. A place where you can live the way you've always dreamed of._

**Yes**, Giratina suddenly stopped its weaving pattern and stared directly downward at Mewtwo, **but why should something as insignificant as you care about me**?

_We have a common adversary_, Mewtwo replied with pure hatred in his thoughts, _you were once one, split into three to divide the power that was too strong for this universe. It is that One that I seek. The One that I must destroy._

**Arceus**, Giratina's voice was a snarl of pure disdain, **yes, destroy the One and the world will be shadows.**

_Will you take your revenge and aid me_? It was not a request, but a question. Mewtwo was confident that he did not need Giratina's aid, but it would certainly make the task easier.

Giratina's massive, serpentine body began gliding away. **Aid? No, I will not aid you. But I will have my revenge when the time is right. Call on me when you plan to challenge the One.**

_Very well_, Mewtwo nodded, _then_ _I will leave you be, until that day arrives_. Mewtwo mentally searched for the hole that was his entrance and his escape back to his own world. The power of Giratina was now his to call upon when needed.

**Remember, Mewtwo**, Giratina's final message called out to Mewtwo as he opened the hole to the Reverse World, **there are forces that neither of us understand in existence. Forces that even Arceus can't control. If Arceus cannot halt your ambitions, then they will.**

_What sort of power should I fear_? Mewtwo demanded, trying to control his anger. Giratina was suggesting that he wasn't powerful enough. Lies, just like Arceus.

**The humans aren't like us, Mewtwo**, Giratina answered, **they're guided by something else. Something greater.**

_Humans_? Even Giratina could feel Mewtwo's hatred burn at the mention of those creatures, _you think that humans can stop me_?

**Then, you don't know**? Giratina was genuinely surprised at Mewtwo's lack of knowledge. **For as long as humans and Pokémon have existed together, that legend has existed. And the power behind it is something that no one can control. Not you or Arceus**.

_What legend_? Mewtwo demanded, his impatience boiling over.

**The legend of the Children of Jirachi**, Giratina responded. **The ones that only know to call themselves human Pokemon.**

Mewtwo closed the hole in the Reverse World that he had opened. He wasn't finished here, yet.

_Tell me_, Mewtwo commanded.

* * *

><p>AN: Mewtwo's back! Huzzah! certainly not as epic as the conversation with Arceus, but it's not bad. the tie-in is starting to take shape, but i think i'll wait until Mewtwo's next appearance before laying out his master plan.<p>

btw, i know i'm not the first to have Jirachi be responsible for making human pokemon (who is, i have no idea), but the rules are gonna be slightly different (Jirachi's more responsible for making it possible than doing it directly).

anyways, we're finally en route to the island! hurray! good times await, so keep reading and thank you so much for all of your support!


	14. A World Opens Up

Chapter 13

"I see it! I see it!" Maple bounced up and down, pointing out at the ocean.

"Huh? Where?" Mark squinted into the distance, but all he saw was miles and miles of the same thing they had seen since the day before.

"You don't see it?" Maple had no idea why he didn't. After all, it was right there, getting bigger and bigger. Mark was even looking at the exact spot Maple was, or close enough for it to not make a difference, and he still didn't see it.

It was another twenty minutes before Mark could see the island, at all. By that time, Maple could make out the shape of the mountain at its western end. The tree line started appearing, showing that the island's southern half was covered in a thick forest. The skyline of the small city, at the island's eastern tip, marked the port where they would be landing.

The ship's whistle blew and the captain's booming voice announced the approach of land to the rest of the passengers. Within minutes, Mark and Maple were squashed together against the railing as the others tried to see.

Although Maple liked it when Mark was that close to her, she decided that it would be far more comfortable if they had been alone. In the meantime, she tried to focus on Mark. After a minute or so of the uncomfortable circumstances, Mark seized Maple's hand and wove through the crowd crammed together on the tiny deck. Maple smiled, realizing that she liked that much better.

"Hell of a lot of fuss over an island, isn't it?" The two stumbled out to freedom to see Tsunami standing back from the crowd. Fernelia stood next to him, calm and composed, as always. Eric stood on Tsunami's shoulders to get a better view. His adopted father held his ankles, keeping the boy steady with no strain whatsoever.

"What's everybody's problem?" Eric grumbled, disappointed by what he saw, "it's just a rock. It doesn't even look like an island, yet. Lame…" Tsunami set the boy down as if he weighed less than air.

"It's much more impressive once you hit land," an annoyed grumble alerted them to the presence of an old man standing off to the side. Mark recognized him as the same old man that had been fishing, the day before.

"Really?" Maple asked him. She didn't know why, but she liked the grumpy old man immediately.

"Sure is…feels like home," the old man said serenely.

The whistle blew again and the old man cringed at the noise. He yelled out in bitter annoyance as the captain made another announcement. He declared that the ship would be making landfall in another two hours and the other passengers began to disperse to gather up their belongings.

"Hey," Mark suddenly realized something was missing, "where's Lionel?"

"Who cares?" Maple said a little too cheerfully, "c'mon, I wanna watch the island some more." She led Mark back to their spot on the bow.

Mark stood next to Maple as she leaned against the railing, humming and bobbing her head up and down. Her tail swayed back and forth, reflecting her excitement. A smile spread across her face as she anticipated what the island would be like.

Suddenly, a faint glimmer caught her eye. Her ears perked up and she began to scan the island, looking for what had caused it. She spotted a shining spot of blue and white coming through a clearing in the forest.

"What? What is it?" Mark scanned the island, but no matter how hard he tried, Maple knew he wouldn't be able to see it.

"It's nothing," Maple reassured him. She only had a second to take in the sight of the creature before it vanished. It had been standing on a cliff, at the edge of the forest, watching the ship approach.

She smiled to herself and began waving her tail back and forth again. Now she was convinced that everything was going to be just fine. She could see a happy ending, again.

_Suicune_.

* * *

><p>The docks were mostly deserted except for a small crowd eagerly awaiting the arrival of the final boat. As Mark and Maple followed the rest of the passengers off of the ship, they heard a voice that they had only heard once before.<p>

"Hey, you made it!" Kim called out to them, waving as Volt stood next to her, slightly hunched over with his hands in his pockets.

"Kim!" Maple shouted with delight, running up to meet her.

"Good to see you," Kim grinned back, "last I saw you, you were trying to lick your hand. How do you like being human?"

"Still getting used to it," Maple responded timidly, "how long have you been here?"

"Just a few days," Kim answered, "sorry to have to ditch you like that. We needed to do some training and I didn't want to blow all of my secrets to a noob." She grinned at Mark who rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for that," he muttered.

"Hey, wait for me!" Maple's heart sank when she heard Lionel approaching.

"Friend of yours?" Kim nodded at Lionel.

"Yeah…" Maple's ears drooped. When she could hear his footsteps, she darted behind Mark for protection.

"Nice to meetcha," Lionel extended a hand, "I'm Lionel."

"Good for you," Volt smirked.

"Ignore him," Kim sighed and shook Lionel's hand, "welcome to Himitsu Island, Lionel. My name's Kim. That one's Volt."

"Awesome!" Lionel marveled at Volt, "a Raichu!"

"Yeah, so?" Volt snapped angrily.

"No need to be a jerk about it," Lionel said, his tone more than a little condescending. Mark looked at Volt realizing that the human Raichu was contemplating how to proceed. He could very easily punish Lionel. In fact, it would take almost no effort.

"Nah, forget it," Volt shook his head, "you're not worth it."

_Great, we haven't been here five minutes and we're already starting to fight each other_, Mark thought, _this is gonna be fun._

Sensing the need for a change of scenery, Kim led the group away from the docks into the city. As they walked, Mark slipped in beside her, eager to learn more to prepare for the tournament.

"So, have you fought in this tournament, before?" he asked.

"Just once," she answered, "I didn't get very far, though. It's a shame it went on hiatus, though. I was looking forward to that year…"

"Hiatus?" Mark asked. He had never heard of a Pokémon Tournament being cancelled before. Most large tournaments were popular enough to be televised. He had even known local tournaments, in small towns, to be capable of easily generating a profit.

"Well," Kim started, "it happens when there's less than three-hundred human Pokémon in the world."

"Three hundred?" Maple's voice wasn't disappointed, but excited, "there's three-hundred! That's wonderful! Mark, three-hundred!"

"You didn't know that?" Lionel asked.

"I didn't know there were any three weeks ago," Mark shrugged.

"Yep, three-hundred," Kim ignored the boys and talked directly to Maple, "trust me. You are going to love it here." She put her arm around Maple's shoulders and drew her close. Just a few moments later, they rounded a corner and Maple realized what the old man on the boat had meant.

It was as if everyone on the streets of Ecruteak City had been replaced with a human Pokémon. A young Pachirisu-boy and an Eevee-girl dashed in front of them, chasing after each other and laughing. A young Linoone-man was chatting up a Wigglytuff-girl against one of the buildings. A Butterfree-girl flitted through the air overhead. At the far end of the street there was a small crowd of all sorts of human Pokémon around a stage at the center of what must be the town square. A beautiful human Jynx was singing for her fans

"Wow…" Maple whispered. It really did feel like home. A place where everyone was like her and would accept what she was without question. She wouldn't have to be afraid of what she was here. Himitsu Island truly was home.

Then she was gone, dashing ahead of the others. Sensing it coming, Mark raced after her.

She stopped in front of the human Linoone and Wigglytuff offering her hand and speaking much too rapidly to be even remotely comprehensible. The Linoone-man, wearing a fur-lined jacket and head-band, raised an eyebrow then began to scowl. The Wigglytuff-girl backed away, timidly clinging to the wall of the building. Her pink, rabbit-like ears, the same color as her dress, sagged downwards as her eyes widened in fear.

Just as Mark reached them, Maple dashed away oblivious to their discomfort.

"New here?" the Linoone inquired.

"Yeah," Mark nodded, stopping just briefly enough to respond.

Maple waved cheerily to the Butterfree-girl floating overhead, her antennae bobbing up and down as she flapped her wings. Her scant clothing was a silken material, giving the impression that she was an over-sized forest fairy with butterfly wings. Unsure of how to respond, the human Butterfree said nothing. But Maple was quickly out of earshot, her trainer racing after her.

Coming up the square, Maple stopped and stared at the human Jynx and Dugtrio band playing on stage. Grinning from ear to ear, Maple scanned the town square. Human Pokémon and trainers alike mingled in the area. There were over a hundred people in the area and most of them were human Pokémon. At that moment, Maple was looking at a full third of the entire human Pokémon population.

"Will you stop?" Mark appeared behind her. Maple was surprised to see him out of breath, when she wasn't tired at all.

"I'm sorry," Maple said absently, too happy to feel apologetic, "it's great isn't it?"

"What is?" Mark asked.

"Here," Maple whispered, "I love it. It feels like I'm home. It's wonderful…" When he looked at her, Mark could see Maple's eyes shining. She was so happy she was on the verge of tears.

"Home, huh?" Mark looked around. He didn't know about "feeling like home," but there was something about it that seemed very welcoming. "They have a banner," he said, pointing above the stage. For Maple, the banner made everything even more perfect.

Third Annual Human Pokémon Tournament

The Evolution Cup

brought to you by

Silph Co.

Welcome Home!

"Attention," the feminine voice of an announcer, rang throughout the square, "the final round of registration of the Evolution Cup will begin within fifteen minutes. All participating teams are asked to check in at the Registration Hall. Thank you."

"Registration Hall?" Mark thought aloud. Next to him, Maple was looking at him with those big, light-brown, hope-filled eyes of hers.

"Yes, we're competing," Mark reassured her, his voice a little agitated.

"YAY!" she cried in delight, flinging her arms around him. To Hell with human awkwardness, she was too happy to care!

Mark was stiff at first, but loosened as she held him. He could get used to it, he decided.

"Man, you're a slippery one," Lionel's voice made Maple release Mark so she could hide behind him. Lionel walked up with Kim and Volt. The humans were smiling warmly while Volt scanned the crowd, distracted.

"'Welcome Home,' huh?" Lionel said, catching sight of the banner, "…weird."

"So," Mark began, looking at Kim, "registration?"

"Not one to stop and smell the roses, huh?" Kim smirked, "alright, I'll take you there. Already registered yesterday, myself."

"Sounds good," Mark nodded, "lead the way." The group turned to leave, heading farther into the city. Lightly skipping rather than walking, Maple strategically placed herself on the far side of Mark, away from Lionel. Mark couldn't tell why, but she clearly did not like him. Maybe it was because he never told her about him.

"Hey, Kimmy," Volt called, he had hung back from the main group a few steps, "mind if I stay behind? I kinda want to see what Sprinkle's up to."

"Oh, sure," Kim waved him away, "she's probably around the beach with some hot guy, or something."

"I'll keep that in mind," Volt grumbled, turning in the opposite direction.

"Is it okay for him to be off on his own?" Mark asked, remembering how Kim and Volt had been arguing when he had first met them.

"Oh, sure," Kim nodded, "Himitsu Island's safe. It's the rest of the world that bothers me."

"Who's Sprinkle?" Maple asked, eager to meet as many new friends as possible.

"My Vaporeon," Kim smiled to herself and shook her head, "she's…a bit of a flirt." Kim started to laugh at her own private joke as they walked. After a few minutes, she was bordering on hysterics.

"What's so funny?" Maple asked.

"Nothing," Kim smirked, "nothing at all." Maple shifted her gaze to Mark, looking for an explanation, but she got none.

"So, you have two?" Mark asked, ignoring Kim's episode.

"Huh?" Kim started, coming to, "yeah. Three, actually. My Jumpluff's name is Cotton. She's a bit shy. Spends most of her time in her Pokéball. Still amazes me that she'll actually fight. She's timid, but strong."

"So, wait," Mark was suddenly aware of a very big problem, "do most people have more than one?"

"Not really," Kim admitted, "most people have only one. Those people don't usually compete, though. Most people in the tournament have at least three or four."

"Three or four?" Mark's eyes widened in shock and he turned to look at Maple, who only smiled back blissfully. If most people had three or four, then there would be almost no way they could compete. Maple was his sole human Pokémon. Taking on three or four equally powerful opponents would be incredibly difficult, even close to impossible.

"Well, yeah," Kim went on, "I mean, once a trainer has one, a lot of their other Pokémon start evolving too. Easier to believe in it, I guess. But, anyway, most have three or four, but there's also the top four trainers. Most people just call 'em The Four. Oh God, they're awesome! They each have six!"

"Six?" Mark could only see the hole he was in getting bigger, "so, wait, they group people together based on skill-level, right? They wouldn't pair somebody with six up against a one or two right away, would they?"

"No," Kim shook her head, "it's pretty much random. Whoever you get is who you get. Cool, we're here." Kim stopped in front of a large circular building that had another banner hanging over the doorway.

She led the group inside, Mark trailing behind. There were no lines yet as it was still a little early. Maple looked around the large high-ceilinged room, taking everything in like an elementary school child on a field trip. Lionel rushed past her, eager to be the first in line.

"Still got a few minutes," Kim said, glancing at a clock on the wall, "something wrong?" She looked at Mark, who had started nervously pacing back and forth.

"Huh?" Mark started and Kim could see the uncertain fear in his eyes, even as he tried to hide it in his voice, "no, nothing's wrong."

"Yeah, bullshit," Kim smirked, shaking her head at the boy, "come on, what's wrong?"

"We can't compete," Mark admitted, unable to hide it any longer, "all I have is Maple. She can't take on four others by herself! She may be a lot stronger, but that's insane!"

"One human Pokémon can surprise you," Kim shrugged, "I mean, one time, Volt and I were up against-"

"It doesn't matter!" Mark interrupted, his shout echoing through the huge room, "Four Pokémon against one? Sure, maybe she can win if every single one is rock, or ground, or water. But the instant she's up against a fire-type, or an ice-type, or whatever! It's all over then. Plain and simple.

"Pokémon is about having a team to work together. We can't take on everyone else alone. It's impossible…" Mark sighed heavily and sank down onto a bench.

"You don't have to fight to win," Kim sighed and sat down next to him.

"What do you mean?" Mark asked.

"Well, you are right," Kim admitted, "one-on-three generally is suicide. So, why should people even try if they already know that there's people out there that have six? I kinda doubt that I could beat someone that powerful."

"So, why compete at all, then?"

"For me?" Kim smiled, "because it's _fun_. Because _they_ like to do it. And maybe we really can't beat them all. But that won't stop us from trying. Hell, if it takes four of them to bring three of us down, we're still better than they are, right?"

"I guess," Mark nodded reluctantly.

"Exactly," Kim continued, "sometimes it's not about whether you win or lose. I just want to show everybody how strong we are. Then, we'll be back. And we'll keep coming back and trying until we prove that we're good enough. Even if there's no chance of winning, if I can make one of the Four shake in their boots, then it's worth it to me."

Unable to think of a response, Mark sank back on the bench. He looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought. Was Kim right? Was it worth it to fight even if you weren't going to win? Her argument was pretty convincing, but still, Maple was going to get hurt if they lost. As a Leafeon, maybe throwing her into a losing battle would've been honorable, in a bizarre way. But, as a girl…no, he couldn't do it.

"All done, bitches," Lionel appeared before him, grinning that same eerie smile.

"Hey, Lionel," Mark leaned forward, "how many human Pokémon do you have?"

"Me?" Lionel pointed to himself, "I've got four. One's a-"

"MAPLE!" Mark jumped to his feet, surging past Lionel straight for Maple at the registration desk. Storming up to her, he grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. But his anger melted away when he looked at those eyes.

"What?" she said timidly, "I was just registering us…"

"Maple…" Mark closed his eyes and sighed, hanging his head, "I don't think we should. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I thought you'd say that," Maple nodded, "I heard you yelling. But, it's okay. I know what could happen and it's okay. I still want to fight."

"Maple…" Mark couldn't believe it. What kind of hold did she have over him to be able to convince him of doing this? He was about to let her get hurt in a fight she couldn't win for a feeling that wasn't even love, yet? God, if he wasn't in love with her, he would be very, very soon.

"Please," Maple pleaded, _those eyes…_ "let me do this. Please…don't you trust me?"

"Okay," Mark took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "fine. Just remember, I'm going to be watching over you. I'm not going to let you do anything stupid."

Maple beamed and flung her arms around Mark and hugged him hard enough to knock him over.

* * *

><p>AN: when i came up with the concept for this story i started by making a bracket and pulling numbers of 1-6 (Mark being the only 1 in the entire group) out of a hat. so, that's why everything's completely random. believe it or not, it actually worked out that Mark doesn't have to fight one of the Four until the semi-final round, which gives plenty of time for super-intense training.<p>

guess that's it. as always, thanks for reading!


	15. Fit for Battle

Chapter 14

After registration, Mark and Maple were instructed to visit the Pokémon Center for Maple's physical. Kim led the way after Lionel announced that he had somewhere else to be and promptly vanished, which was fine by Maple.

Wondering exactly what a physical for a human Pokémon would consist of, Mark nevertheless followed without question or comment.

Kim led them through a set of sliding glass doors into what very closely resembled a hospital waiting room. On either side, trainers and human Pokémon alike sat in sparse groups, talking softly or just staring into space out of sheer boredom.

"Jeffrey Walters," a soft, feminine voice called from the right, "you can head on back with Bubbles, now." Mark turned to see a young boy, roughly his own age, rise out of his seat and head off in the direction of the voice.

Standing by a set of double-doors, Mark took notice of a human Blissey beaming at Jeffrey as he approached. She wore a rather frilly pink and white gown with an unusually short skirt. The sleeves and skirt were decorated with pink hearts. Long, pink hair flowed down her back, and her head was topped with a nurse's cap. Inexplicably, she held a large egg in a pouch on the front of her gown.

"So, what do we do?" Mark asked.

"Just head up to the counter and let them know you're here," Kim instructed, "they'll already have your registration information. It's standard practice to give the human Pokémon of any noobs a physical."

"Stop calling me that," Mark said, more annoyed than actually angry.

Nevertheless, he approached the desk in the back of the room. He found a sign-in sheet and wrote Maple's name under the column labeled PATIENT and his own under the column labeled CARETAKER. Exactly how he was going to pay for this, Mark would have to figure out later.

And so, they waited.

"So, is there any difference between treating a human Pokémon and a regular one?" Mark asked. It was one of the thousand questions on his mind and now seemed like the best time to ask it.

"Well, let's see…" Kim thought for a moment. She had fought exclusively with her human Pokémon for so long that the rules for regular Pokémon were slow in coming. "Have you fought with Maple, at all?"

"Yeah," Mark said, "I had her fight a few of my own. She beat them all without any trouble."

"Okay," Kim nodded, "sounds about right. Did she get hurt, at all?"

"My Infernape hit her with Flamethrower," Mark explained, "but it didn't seem to do much." He glanced over at Maple as he brought up the unpleasant experience. Maple was sitting on her knees, facing backwards and examining the room. The waiting was making her antsy and she was unable to sit still and was also bored by the conversation. She had completely missed what he said.

"Well, did you heal her after that?" Kim asked.

"Honestly, I didn't know how," Mark shrugged, "she's going to be okay, right?"

"Well, sure," Kim nodded, "she probably recovered a bit while she slept, so, she's fine. As long as she's not bleeding, it's nothing serious."

"Wait, _bleeding_?" Mark didn't like the sound of that, "you mean, fighting other Pokémon could hurt her enough to make her bleed?"

Never in his entire life had he seen a Pokémon shed blood during a battle. He had seen a Gyarados decimate a Pidgey with a Hyper Beam and watched Rock Pokémon get blasted by tidal waves, but never in his entire life had he seen blood, or anything life-threatening. It was simply a fact of the Pokémon world. Pokémon were virtually incapable of dealing mortal blows to each other. As if something in the back of their minds knew what could kill and they simply chose otherwise.

"People think it's a side-effect of turning human," Kim explained, "they lose that normal Pokémon resilience and pick up some of the frailties of a normal person. But, I really have no idea. I don't understand it, and I don't try to understand it."

_Blood_, Mark thought about it. It did make sense, in a weird way. It was almost as if there had to be a price to pay for evolving into something so drastically different from a normal Pokémon. Human Pokémon were a blend of both humans and Pokémon. Apparently they had the strengths and weaknesses of both.

"Wait," Mark realized something very dangerous, "does that mean that human Pokémon fight…to the death?"

"Huh?" Kim's startled reaction served as something of a relief to the worried trainer, "no, no. Usually not, at least." Mark frowned, "usually" wouldn't be good enough.

"Well, they _can_," Kim attempted to sound reassuring, "but usually it's just until one side is unconscious. Like, that regular Pokémon barrier of fainting, or whatever, that kicks in first. But if they want to, human Pokémon can push themselves past that. Does that make sense?"

"Not really," Mark admitted, shaking his head.

"Well, the nurse will be able to explain better than I can," Kim shrugged, giving up on trying to answer Mark's questions. She wanted to explain it, but there was just too much that she didn't understand. She didn't know anything about genetics and Pokémon biology. How the hell was she _supposed_ to explain how it worked?

She quickly brightened up, though, as something occurred to her that she had nearly forgotten.

"One thing I can tell you, though," Kim grinned, wondering why she hadn't thought of it faster, "all of the medicines still work. Potions, ethers, and the like. They're just formulated a little differently to specifically help human Pokémon."

"Even if they're bleeding?"

"Even if they're bleeding," Kim nodded, "wound closes right up. It's pretty cool to see, actually. The healing machine is the only thing that nobody's figured out yet. It just registers an empty Pokéball, but they'll have that done before long."

"Wow…" Mark marveled, "that…doesn't sound like medicine. It sounds like magic!"

Kim shrugged, "And Pokémon aren't magic?"

Mark didn't have a response to that. Kim had a point. Strictly speaking, most Pokémon abilities were not fundamentally normal. Breathing fire, shooting bolts of electricity, and the rest of the ever-changing kaleidoscope of Pokémon abilities was more like magic than nature.

Yet, his entire life, Mark had never really thought of it that way. It was just what Pokémon did. It was no stranger than a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Drastic changes like that were just the reality of Pokémon.

Nobody really knew why Pokémon were like that. Scientists and philosophers alike had been trying for thousands of years to explain why, but they could go no further than describing what it was that they saw. Pokémon were just different from everything else, but no less a part of nature. Many thought that they were important representatives of nature. They were its will and power manifested in a whole new way of life. They were creatures of magic, even if it was as natural to them as any other form of life.

And if Pokémon were magic, was any other form of life really any less magical?

But, slow down a second…blood? If blood was common and death was a real possibility, was he seriously going to subject Maple to something like that?

He looked over at the Leafeon-girl sitting next to him. She was swaying her tail back and forth and humming a tune that he didn't recognize. Mark thought that she looked beautiful and adorable at the same time.

"Mark and Maple," the Blissey nurse called their names, "you can head on back."

Maple was so excited she vaulted over the back of her chair in a single motion. Mark followed in a much more subdued manner.

The nurse escorted them back into a smaller room. It was designed like a normal, human doctor's examination room with the standard chest-high table covered with a thin sheet of paper and a small counter-top complete with tongue depressors and sanitation gloves.

Instructing Maple to sit down on the table, she began to do some tests. She started by taking Maple's blood pressure. The numbers never meant anything to Mark, so, he took it on faith that Maple was okay when the Blissey-woman showed no negative reaction. Next, she directed Maple to the scale and measured her to be 112 lbs. and between 5'4" and 5'10" depending on whether or not one counted her ears.

All the while, Mark was learning what it felt like to be on the parent's side of an escorted doctor's visit. Each test the nurse did set him on edge, in case the nurse found something wrong with Maple. Maple, on the other hand, while confused by why the tests were even necessary, did her best to take note of everything the nurse said and did. She found it all to be endlessly fascinating.

After height and weight came an ear and throat examination. This was the point where all three of them collectively discovered that Maple's ears were extremely ticklish.

While checking the inside of her ears for possible infections, the Blissey nurse steadied Maple's long ears by holding them up. When she did so, Maple burst into fits of giggling. Startled and confused, Mark and the nurse exchanged wide-eyed glances.

"I'm s-sorry," Maple squealed, "t-that tickles!"

"Get the hell out of here," Mark gaped, unable to hide his confusion.

While lightly biting her tongue to keep herself steady, Maple made it through the rest of her ear exam.

Maple also passed her reflex, vision and hearing tests with flying colors. She could read every letter on the board from double the distance with either eye. Similarly, the hearing tester couldn't make a noise that she couldn't hear. But the nurse informed them that results like that were fairly standard with human Pokémon.

"Is she going to have to do a drug test?" Mark asked halfway through the vision test.

"Actually, no," the nurse said cheerfully, "steroids and other performance enhancers have little to no effect on human Pokémon. The dosage required to see any real effect is also extremely high and will likely make the user sick before any benefits appear."

"Okay," Mark nodded, "makes sense. I actually have a few other questions, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," she beamed, "what's on your mind?"

"Well," Mark sighed, "just general stuff, really. Like, what exactly are the differences between a regular Pokémon and a human Pokémon? Are they mostly human or mostly Pokémon? That sort of thing."

"Well," the nurse reached into a drawer and produced a few pamphlets, "these should help clear up any questions you have." She handed them to Mark. The one on top had a picture of a young boy trainer standing with his female human Ponyta, both smiling, and was decorated with a gold-colored title. It read: _Understanding and Caring for Your New Best Friend_.

Mark raised an eyebrow at it.

Still, it was all he had to work with, so he decided that beggars couldn't be choosers and started reading.

Once the hearing test was over, the nurse cleaned and swabbed a needle on the end of an empty syringe. Maple's big eyes doubled in size with instinctive fear.

"It's okay, you won't feel a thing," the nurse recited the standard lie, "we just need to take a little blood to finish the test." Maple started fidgeting incessantly, weighing her options and what might happen if she ran and abandoned going through the tournament.

"Maple, it's okay," Mark was quickly at her side, "I hate getting shots, too. Just hold onto my hand and squeeze, if it hurts." This offer had a profound effect on Maple's demeanor. However, Mark was vastly unprepared for just how hard Maple was capable of squeezing his hand.

"And done," the nurse said much too calmly in light of the pinprick pain in Maple's arm and the throbbing one in Mark's hand, "we'll have your results in a day or two. Then we can tell you exactly how old you are. Won't that be fun?"

"Oh, cool," Maple forgot about the pain in her arm as the nurse wiped the spot where she had stuck her with the needle. No mark remained on her skin.

"Alright," Mark said, rubbing away the pain in his hand, "is that it then?"

"That's it," the nurse declared, "you're all set to compete, Maple. Oh, and if you have any additions to your team while you're competing, just bring them in for a physical and they'll be all ready."

"New additions?" Mark asked.

"Yes, of course," the nurse explained, "it's common for a trainer's Pokémon to evolve around so many human Pokémon. If any of your other Pokémon happen to evolve, just bring them in and they can compete as well."

"Oh, okay," Mark nodded, "does that happen often?"

"It does," she nodded, "trainers have even brought in transition-phase human Pokémon to compete in the tournament with."

"I see," Mark considered. By "transition-phase" she meant those weird in-between stages that Maple had gone through right after she had evolved. Those first few days were well behind them, now, but he still remembered them very well.

"I think it's sad," the almost-creepily-cheerful nurse suddenly became depressed, "some trainers even try to keep a human Pokémon in those stages for the tournament."

"Ohhh," Maple whined in sympathy, "why would they do such a thing?"

"I don't know…" the nurse sighed, "some think they're stronger during those times. They keep them locked up inside of their Pokéballs and delay the transformation."

_So that's why_, Mark thought, remembering Kim's advice to leave Maple out of her Pokéball during the transition. Without human contact, a newly transformed human Pokémon couldn't see what it meant to be human. But that would mean that that human Pokémon was still more Pokémon than human. Could that really make them stronger? Whether it did or not, it was cruel to force a human Pokémon to stay in that limbo stage.

"Oh," Maple's ears drooped as she became depressed in her sympathy.

"Well, I'll never do such a thing," Mark assured the nurse, "I can promise you that." It felt flimsy, but it was the best he had.

"Thank you," the nurse smiled, anyway, grateful for even his small gesture, "it's really nothing to be too concerned about. It isn't illegal since the trainers aren't hurting them. I suppose that I'm just happy to be human, now."

"Right," Mark managed to smile back and Maple perked up, as well.

"Me too!" she declared, springing to her feet.

* * *

><p>AN: don't think there's much to say for this chapter...<p>

so, yeah, thanks for reading!


	16. Community

Chapter 15

As Kim led the way to their final stop, the island's massive hotel, Mark flipped through each of the pamphlets. They were little help, offering only vague answers even to the most important of Mark's questions.

_What makes a Pokémon evolve into a human?_ Read the FAQ section of _Understanding and Caring for Your New Best Friend_.

_Though still not clearly defined, there are many factors affecting a Pokémon's evolution into human form. The most fundamental being the will necessary to become human. _That was simple enough; a Pokémon had to want to be human. If Maple was in love with him, like Jeremiah suggested, then that could be reason enough to want to be human. But the pamphlet became much vaguer.

_Other factors are also known to affect a Pokémon's evolution. Often, Pokémon evolve more easily when in the company of other human Pokémon. It is also believed that wild Pokémon cannot evolve into humans due to the lack of exposure to humans. However, many other factors, such as experience, species, and age have no effect on human Pokémon evolution. All of these effects and more are still being investigated._

Well, at least it admitted it didn't know all the answers. Mark didn't feel so stupid anymore.

"Hey," Kim jolted Mark back to reality, "you have to pay for your room, you know." Still in a daze, he did so.

The three climbed into an elevator and waited for it to rise eleven floors.

"Once they've finished registration and everybody's physicals they'll work out the schedule," Kim explained, "the opening ceremonies are tonight. They'll probably give it out then."

Mark nodded, still flipping through his pamphlets.

_Why do human Pokémon still need trainers in battle?_ The same pamphlet went on.

_Although it's true that human Pokémon are much more independent and don't really need a trainer's orders in battle, the bond between trainer and Pokémon remains very powerful. It is through this bond that a Pokémon's abilities are noticeably increased and without the instruction and careful guidance of a trainer, even a human Pokémon's abilities refuse to shine at full power._

Once again, it was a vague answer and not really conclusive. Sure, it explained that a human Pokémon needed a trainer to be at full power, but _why_? Mark could only assume that nobody knew. They could describe it, but not explain it. Human Pokémon were just as much of a mystery as regular Pokémon. Probably even more so. And their evolution didn't answer any questions, it just created more.

Sighing, Mark folded the pamphlet up and put it away.

"All done?" Kim asked.

"Giving up, really," Mark explained, "they don't know any more than we do."

"The oldest known human Pokémon showed up just around seven years ago," Kim shrugged, "nobody's really had the time to learn much."

"Seven years?" Mark raised an eyebrow, "that's it?"

"That's it," Kim nodded as the elevator dinged their arrival, "good, we're here."

Maple was about to ask who the first human Pokémon was, but the elevator's arrival opened up a new area to observe and explore. She decided she would ask later.

The group passed several rooms on either side before coming to Mark and Maple's room.

"Here we are," Kim announced, "Room 1104, have a good time, kids. My room's down the hall, 1109, if you need anything."

"Okay, thanks for everything, Kim," Mark said, "we wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you."

"Oh, shut up," Kim grinned, "you're just gonna be an easy noob to beat in the tourney. You just make sure you last long enough for me to kick your ass."

"Will do," Mark smiled and Maple waved as they watched her go.

"Well, go on," Maple urged, glad that she no longer had to compete with a piece of paper for attention, "open it!"

"I got it, don't worry," Mark slid the plastic keycard through the door and opened the room.

* * *

><p>That night, Alfred Silph stood before a podium on a makeshift stage in the center of the stadium. He beamed out at the crowd gathered for the opening ceremonies. A grand total of thirty-two competitors with over a hundred human Pokémon were going to compete for the championship. There was even a brave, or stupid, sixteen-year-old boy that was going to compete with just a single human Pokémon.<p>

Even better, after Aurum was confirmed for the tournament, the rest of the Four fell like dominoes. Except for PureBlueSky who apparently decided he was going to attend without telling anybody. Not exactly the way Silph wanted to go about it, but as long as they were there, it didn't matter.

Now everything was in place and he could put on the biggest, grandest tournament he was capable of.

The bright lights of the stadium lit up the field, illuminating the trainers and human Pokémon as they marched into the stadium. The crowd roared their applause wishing friends, family and fellow trainers the best. They gathered in front of him in no particular order, asked simply to come down to the field to present themselves to their fans before the ceremonies began.

Silph looked down at the competitors gathered together before him. All of them were ready and willing to claim the title for themselves. Would there be a new champion this year? Or would PureBlueSky defend his title and once again prove why the Four were so feared and respected? Time would tell, as the anticipation of the upcoming fights hung in the air.

The heir to the Silph Co. held up his hands for silence and slowly, the cheers and murmurs of the crowd faded as he prepared to speak.

"My friends," he spoke into the microphone, his voice echoing through the stadium, "it is a great honor to stand before so many talented trainers and human Pokémon this evening. It is with open arms that I welcome you back as well as any and all newcomers. I wish you all the best of luck in your upcoming battles.

"I want you all to remember that you fight not just for the prize and the title. But you are now helping to represent the entire human Pokémon community. A community made up of people just like you. For whether we are human or Pokémon, we are all equals here.

"Remember that here you are accepted and loved by everyone around you. Remember that you are not alone in the world. You have friends that hold each and every one of you dear to our hearts.

"We gather together not just to test our strength and skill. But we also gather together to remind each other of one basic fact. We are not alone and someday we may openly walk through the world without fear of ridicule or persecution.

"As this community grows, so do our bonds with one another. May those bonds strengthen and guide you as we gather together to celebrate what we have and what we are."

Silph continued talking, but Mark missed most of it. Down amongst the other trainers, he and Maple stood together. Most of the other trainers were fairly young, not much older than Mark. He didn't seem out of place at all around the others. Even Maple fit right in as the group consisted of at least double the amount of human Pokémon than normal humans.

"Holy shit…" Kim whispered, next to Maple, "look over there." She pointed through the crowd to a young woman standing with a human Milotic.

Mark could only tell that she was a Milotic from the strange pattern of blue and red blotches bordered by black on the long skirt she wore. It ended with the fan design similar to a Milotic's around her ankles. Her red hair parted in a curious manner into three separate flowing lengths that reached down to the small of her back. Like Maple, she wore no shoes.

Her trainer was a young woman in her early twenties. The most striking feature of her was the fact that there was a streak of hair that was dyed a dark blue down the middle of her otherwise auburn hair. She looked up at Alfred Silph with an expression that suggested she had heard the entire spiel too many times already. Mark thought she would be very beautiful if she didn't have a look of broken sadness in her eyes.

"Do you see her?" Kim whispered. Her tone sounded like she had just seen a celebrity that she had idolized since she was a child.

"Yeah, I see her," Mark nodded, not quite understanding what was so special about her.

"I can't believe it!" Kim was practically hyperventilating, "I knew she would be here, but holy shit! She's _right there_!"

"Who is she?" Maple asked, more interested in the human Milotic than the young woman.

"That's RiverofTears!" Kim grinned from ear to ear, "She's the only girl member of the Four! She's been my idol ever since I even knew about her! And she's right there!"

"So…she's good?" Mark asked.

"Of_ course_ she's good, you stupid noob," Kim scolded, the smile never wavering, "she's amazing! She's practically a goddess!"

"What's the Milotic's name?" Maple asked, curious about her competition.

"Huh?" Kim stopped for a moment to regain her composure, "oh, that's Teardrop. She's one of RiverofTears's strongest."

Maple nodded before turning back to listen to Alfred Silph's speech. She loved it. Every word sounded like he was talking directly to her. He welcomed her home, reminded her she had friends that thought the world of her. Even if half the world was afraid of her or didn't even know she existed. She was accepted and celebrated here. At this tournament, she could be anything and everything she had ever dreamed of becoming.

"And now, I ask that you turn your attention to the wonderfully clear sky that blesses this tournament, for the first of many surprises that we have planned for this year."

The lights of the stadium were switched off as thousands of heads turned upward to the star-filled sky to see what Alfred Silph's surprise was. After a few moments, Maple heard what sounded like a small explosion. A small stream of light appeared over the stadium weaving back and forth slightly. Suddenly, the light went out and was replaced by a plume of red and blue sparks that filled up the sky in a marvelous display of light and color.

She cringed after the first firework exploded, terrified by the noise it made while at the same time awed by the wonderful display. When the second exploded into a mixture of green and blue she realized that the sound wasn't anything threatening and she could just enjoy the lights that came with it. Grinning widely, she turned to Mark who was smiling at her with a mixture of amusement and adoration. Blushing, the two turned away simultaneously.

Spinning in place, Maple looked around to see the entire stadium light up. That was when something caught her eye.

Perched on top of the southernmost pillar of the stadium, a lone human Pokémon watched everyone. Maple couldn't make out the dark shape until the light from the next firework briefly lit up the area. In a quick glance, Maple recognized it as a female human Salamence.

She wore a one-piece dress that was red around the shoulders and faded to white before turning to blue at the base of the skirt. Her deep red hair was shoulder length and the pointed ears of a Salamence could be seen. The three-foot long blue and red tail matched the knee-high boots she wore. Her wings were folded against her back while she rested on the pillar.

The sky went dark again and Maple could only make out the observer's silhouette. She watched as the great wings spread out to an incredible five yard wingspan. Another firework lit up her form as she dove off of the pillar before gliding away, towards the city.

* * *

><p>"Cheesy," PureBlueSky rolled his eyes as he looked at the banner in the square. He was alone, waiting for Tempest to come back. Flurry and, what was his name? Evan? Yes, that was it. The two of them were at the stadium. They were virtually inseparable, the kid clinging to her like a puppy, whining to see everything. PureBlueSky had become a babysitter.<p>

Now that he was alone, he paced the square, glancing at the banner every now and then, cursing it.

It was undoubtedly Alfred Silph's idea. The guy was overdramatic and outright stupid enough to actually think it was awe-inspiring. Who in their right mind would think that?

Fireworks erupted from the direction of the stadium, jolting Sky out of his thoughts, temporarily.

"Fireworks…" he sighed, "of course you would." Just how many clichés was Silph going to rely on for this tournament? What was next? Maybe a parade and a dance night? Joy.

He checked the time on his Pokégear, a relic now but it did the job. Tempest was late. Of all the times he didn't want to wait, he certainly didn't want to wait here with that cheesy banner staring back at him, daring him to think about the past.

He would, of course, there were too many memories on Himitsu Island. They were pleasant memories, too, which made looking back more painful, somehow. Why couldn't he hold onto them? It had all slipped through his fingers and there was nothing he could have done to stop it. But that didn't stop him from asking himself if there was something he could have done differently.

The fireworks from the stadium lit up the empty square as PureBlueSky paced.

Was everyone back, again? Were River and Edge and maybe even Aurum over in that stadium watching these cheesy fireworks? River probably was, she was always enough of a romantic to be able to enjoy Silph's bullshit. She was probably watching them with that same girly fascination she always had…

Sky shook his head, clearing away the thoughts of River.

Edge, on the other hand, he might've skipped out. That would be his style. He hated ceremonies like that, not enough action, not enough excitement. Maybe he was in the woods or off in the mountains doing some training.

Aurum would stay. He'd complain the entire time, but he'd stay. That old man was always tough for Sky to figure out. He was usually bitter and cynical as if he just wanted to be left in peace. He was nice to absolutely no one but River.

All three of them had to practically beg him to train them and he hadn't gone easy on them, either. But, without him, they never would've reached the level that they were at now. Sky still felt like he owed the old man more than he could ever pay back.

PureBlueSky looked at the banner, again.

"Asshole," he muttered, before checking the time, again. Two minutes had passed. Where the hell was Tempest?

Finally, another three agonizing minutes later, Sky noticed the dark shape in the sky coming from the stadium. He recognized the wide wing-span of his human Salamence. Moments later, she swooped down into the square and lightly landed a few feet away from her trainer, flapping her leathery wings a few times to steady herself.

"Well?" Sky asked, impatient for details.

"She's here," Tempest nodded, smoothing her red hair as she folded her wings against her back, "so are Aurum and Edge. They're all in the stadium."

"Really?" Sky was surprised to hear that even Edge had the patience to sit through the opening ceremonies. That made Sky the only member of the Four that did not attend. Suddenly, he felt like an asshole.

"You are going to talk to her, right?" Tempest asked, though she was afraid that she knew what the answer was.

"…Not right now," Sky shook his head and turned away from Tempest, unable to face her.

Tempest closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, fighting to control her quick temper. How many times had she heard this from him? She hated watching him do this to himself, it was pathetic. Sky had been such a good person before; he had been strong, confident. He had been so…damn it all!

So much time had passed since they had been here last. She hadn't realized how much she had missed it until she was soaring through the sky looking down on Himitsu Island.

But that time hadn't done anything to help Sky. It just made his pain worse. Worse still, there was nothing Tempest, or any of his human Pokémon, could do to make him feel any better. She felt like she was watching him kill himself right in front of her.

She wanted to hit him. Maybe she could smack some sense into him. It was just about the only thing left that they hadn't tried. Just one good punch, make him bleed and remind him what real pain felt like. Tempest had bled so many times for him, why couldn't he do the same for her?

And yet, she couldn't do it.

Had she noticed a slightly longer delay before that pre-recorded response of his? "Not right now," "the timing isn't right," or "I'm not ready, yet." How many times had she heard that? And still, she couldn't bring herself to hit him and just be done with the coward.

PureBlueSky, the champion of the Second Evolution Cup and arguably the strongest human Pokémon trainer in the world, was a coward.

Still, there had been a delay. They were back in this place that held so many wonderful memories. Maybe this could be the year. This could be the year that PureBlueSky finally got over the past and could move on. Tempest had to hope. It was all she had left.

"Tempest," Sky's voice sounded even more distracted than usual. Was that a good sign?

"Yeah?" Tempest sighed.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," she nodded. The square lit up as another firework exploded over their heads. Tempest turned to look up and watch while PureBlueSky stared at the ground.

* * *

><p>AN: and now everything's set up to get down to some good tournament fighting. 15 chapters and still just 1 12 fights (the 1/2 being Maple vs. Mark's normals).

so, yeah, cya next week!


	17. Aged Warriors: Abe vs Aurum Part 1

Chapter 16

"Well, the schedule says there's going to be three matches each day, for the first two rounds," Mark explained to Maple the morning after the entrance ceremonies, "looks like our first match is two days from now. It's on the morning of the third day. Should be plenty of time to get ready." He folded the paper up and put it in his back pocket.

"'ou fink so?" Maple gurgled. She was trying out brushing her teeth, which seemed pointless since they were just going to get dirty again, but she did like the way the toothpaste tasted. Mark warned her not to swallow it, which made even less sense.

She could've had more practice, on the road, but this was the first morning that Mark had been able to convince her that her teeth even _looked_ dirty.

"Rinse and spit, once you're done," he instructed before continuing, "yeah, I think so. I mean, you were pretty strong as a Leafeon and you've only gotten better. Really I just need to see what battles with human Pokémon are usually like." _See how brutal they are_, Mark thought but didn't say, "And I'm sure there's somebody we can challenge outside of the tournament for practice. Yeah, two days is plenty of time to get ready."

"O'ay," Maple spit, but she didn't know what Mark meant by "rinse" which required a little extra help to show that he meant to rinse with water. She also spit on the floor, rather than the sink. In retrospect, that made much more sense.

"Let's see if Kim's around," Mark suggested as he shut the door to their room, "I still need to ask her a few questions."

On their way to Kim's room, a frantic male voice called out to them. They turned to see a disheveled human Absol dressed in white racing down the hall towards them. The young man stopped in front of them, panting for breath.

"Umm…hello?" Mark started.

"I don't…have much…time," he glanced over his shoulder while he talked, "my name's Silver. I'm looking for a new trainer."

"You're _what_?" Maple was thoroughly offended by the idea.

"I'm looking for a new trainer," Silver repeated, his patience running thin, "Mine's psychotic. You have no idea what I had to do to even get away from her for five minutes."

"Okay," Mark was beginning to grasp where this was going, "why did you come to us, then?"

"Look," Silver sighed, "I'm not exactly picky about who I join up with. And besides, I heard you were the only trainer in the tournament with just one human Pokémon and-"

"Wait," Mark interrupted, "how did you know that? We didn't even know that for sure."

"So…" Silver suddenly looked very confused, "you didn't send him?"

"Send who?"

"The blond kid," Silver answered, "some little teenager came around last night telling everybody in the tournament that there's a kid named Mark Diamond that's competing with only one human Pokémon. It's probably all over the island, by now."

"What…?" Mark's face went white. It had been Lionel, there was no question about that. He had gone off on his own. Why? Why would he do something so stupid?

"You okay, man?" Silver asked, "hey, don't worry about it. So what if everybody knows all you have is a Leafeon-girl? Take me with you and you'll stand a real chance in this whole thing!"

Mark was too dumbfounded to respond. Everyone knew. They knew exactly what his weaknesses were and he hadn't even fought one match yet! It was over before it even started.

"Silvyyyyy!" a young girl's voice echoed down the stairwell behind Silver, making him cringe.

"Dammit!" he swore, "gotta go. I'm up in 1512 when you're ready. Just watch out for Lily. And don't let her find me!" Before either Mark or Maple could respond, Silver was gone, running past them and bolting down the opposite stairwell.

"What the…?" Mark started to ask when the same girl's voice called out from behind them as she emerged into the hallway.

This time, a girl with dark hair who looked about Mark's age approached them. She looked lost and hurt, a complete contrast to the psychotic menace that they had just been warned about. Yet there was no mistake, this was the girl whose voice had made Silver run and hide like a criminal with a death sentence.

"Umm…hello, my name's Lily," the girl said meekly, "did you happen to see a human Absol recently?" Mark and Maple exchanged glances.

"Yeah," Maple answered, "he just went running through here. Is something wrong?"

"Well…no," Lily hung her head, "but Silvy's been acting really weird, lately. He keeps running off…"

"He asked us if he could come with us," Maple said gently, afraid to upset Lily, but determined to tell her the truth.

"He said that?" Lily asked, not really surprised by the information, "I see. Well, which way did he go?"

"That way," Maple directed, "he ran down the stairs."

"Oh, okay…" Lily numbly began walking past Maple and Mark, "I just want him to be happy. Maybe I'm overdoing it…" She started to trail off, speaking more to herself than to anyone else.

"That was weird…" Mark shook his head and started moving towards Kim's room, again. Maple kept staring after Lily. She felt horribly sorry for her. Lily just loved Silver too much and Silver didn't love her back. It was so sad. The poor girl. Maple hoped that she and Mark wouldn't end up like that.

* * *

><p>The bright morning sunlight of Himitsu Island lit up the stadium as Kim led Mark and Maple in to watch the first fight. The match would be between Aurum, one of the Four, and someone else that Kim had never heard of named Abe Gerson.<p>

She had seen Aurum in the last tournament. But he lost in the first round in a major upset, before he even fought another one of the Four. That person lost immediately after that to EdgeoftheEarth, but she could not for the life of her remember who it had been. Whoever it was would probably be back again this year.

Her own group of human Pokémon remained divided as Sprinkle prowled the beaches, Cotton kept herself timidly locked away, and Volt became even more angsty than usual. She wondered what it was that bothered him so much…something in the air. Mark's friend Lionel made it even worse, which made no sense.

Speaking of Mark, the kid had somehow designated Kim to be his personal tour guide. She couldn't complain since she had practically volunteered herself. But she liked Maple, even if Mark was just a stupid kid. Thankfully, the pamphlets that the nurse had given them had either answered all of his questions or convinced him to stop asking.

He might not have noticed it, but he was a lot more like Maple than what he realized. Both of them had an endless fascination for anything new and, in their own way, they each examined it, prodded at it and played with it like a kitten. The only difference was which world each came from. They were a girl from the world of Pokémon learning about humans and a human boy learning about Pokémon. They were a fascinating and often frustrating couple.

"Over here!" Maple hopped up and down from a location in the exact center of the western half of the stands. From there, they would be able to easily see the entire field and have an excellent view of the battle.

"Not bad," Kim complimented as she and Mark settled into their seats on opposite sides of Maple, "the match should start in another fifteen minutes or so."

The stadium quickly filled with humans and human Pokémon alike. Looking over the crowd, Kim thought it was a fair guess that almost every person at the tournament had turned out for it. That was what happened when one of the Four took to the field. They were in a class of their own and to see one fight was always a rare and wonderful experience.

Maple could barely sit still as they waited. In fact, Mark and Kim both had to scold her at least three times apiece to get her to sit back down and stop bothering everyone else. Kim felt like a babysitter looking after an over-thinking nerd and a toddler with energy to spare. Finally, when she could take no more, the combatants entered the stadium

A grizzled middle-aged man entered to their right. Not even glancing at the crowd, he walked calmly to the center of the field, where he would shake hands with his opponent before beginning. The crowd began to murmur in a low rumble as the onlookers wondered what kind of fighter this mystery man could be. No one knew who he was, but he obviously must possess a good deal of experience to be able to enter the stadium without a single glance at his audience.

A moment later, a hunched old man in a straw hat emerged from the opposite end of the stadium. After taking a few steps he paused, confused by the tumultuous roar that erupted once he was recognized as Aurum. He shook his head in exasperation then briefly waved, causing the crowd to cheer even louder. Kim had to peer a bit closer to realize that under his left arm, he was carrying a battered lawn chair.

Maple shot up onto her bare feet when she saw the old man. After a second of careful consideration she began bouncing up and down and waving her tail excitedly. Earlier she would've been told not to do so immediately, but with the entire crowd cheering just as excitedly, she fit right in.

"What, what is it?" Mark asked, shouting to be heard over top of the crowd.

"That's the old man from the boat!" Maple explained, smiling down at Mark, "I can't believe it! This is gonna be so great!"

Mark was a bit doubtful about how great the match was going to be. But, he didn't come just for his own enjoyment. He needed to study his competition. It was odd that he had now crossed paths with two of the Four, the toughest competitors in the tournament. He had seen Aurum and RiverofTears, who was left? More importantly, what kind of trainers were they? He would need to know if he wanted to have any chance against them.

Down on the open, grass field, the two oldest fighters in the tournament met in the center for the opening handshake. Abe scowled at the old man thinking that it was his lucky day that he'd be able to fight him right away and get this over with. After all, Aurum was the reason he was here.

"Hello," Aurum said, half-awake, "most people call me Aurum, I'm-"

"I know who you are," Abe snapped.

"That's nice," Aurum said, rubbing his eyes with his one free hand. After another few seconds of silence, he wondered what the expression on his opponent's face was supposed to mean, "should I know you?"

"Senile, already?" Abe mocked, "yes, you should know me. I challenged you at the last tournament."

"That happens," Aurum responded dryly, his patience running thin. Soon it would be up and he wouldn't give this nobody the time of day.

"I challenged you so that you would teach me and my Pokémon to fight like yours," Abe gritted his teeth, "you refused because I couldn't defeat even one of your Pokémon."

"So what?" Aurum responded, "Lots of amateurs come to me to beg to be trained. Just because I'm old, it doesn't mean I'm looking for apprentices."

"You miserable old fool…" Abe clenched his hands into fists, fighting back his frustration at the half-awake old man.

"Look, can we get this over with already?" Aurum's patience ran out, "I have fishing to do. Even if I hate it." Aurum extended his wrinkled and bony right hand. It was a hand that had thrown a Pokéball countless times.

"Fine, then," Abe shook Aurum's hand roughly, "I don't even need you. I'll show you how far me and both of my human Pokémon have come."

"You have two?" Aurum asked, his interest piqued.

"Yes, what of it?" Abe snapped back.

"Well, I'll make you a deal," Aurum grinned, "you said we fought before, then let's just have a rematch. Use two of yours to defeat one of mine and maybe I'll think about training you."

"A gambler, huh?" finally Aurum was speaking Abe's language, "alright, then. You're on." Smiling, both men parted ways towards their respective sides of the stadium. Aurum to the green platform, Abe to the red.

Aurum opted to have his platform lower and then raise him up the necessary five meters above the ground. He probably could have climbed the ladder, at least he hoped he could, but why go to all that trouble?

Unfolding his fishing chair, he sat down and peered at the man across the field from him. He did remember the man, vaguely. More importantly, he remembered what his human Pokémon were. Sighing, he realized that this match wasn't going to be worth his time.

He leaned back and lowered his hat over his eyes, intent on taking a nap. He tossed out a Pokéball and heard the familiar popping sound as Katana took to the field.

The human Weavile stretched her arms and slowly breathed in the sweet, intoxicating scent of a battlefield. She wore a one-piece black dress that cut off an inch above the knee with a dark red collar and a sash around her waist. There was a dark red crown on top of her short, black hair. She also wore white gloves and black knee-high boots. She peered out at the world with bloodlust shining in her red eyes.

"Wow…" Katana breathed, smiling, "wow…it's good to be back. Oh, master, you have no idea how good it feels to just stand here."

"Don't get your hopes up too much," Aurum grumbled, "you're fighting an amateur."

"Dammit…really?" Katana asked, hoping that her trainer was lying.

"Sorry," Aurum sighed, "wake me when it's over."

"If you insist," Katana shrugged, "goodnight, master."

Aurum leaned back and folded his arms across his lap as Katana turned back to her opponent. In a flash of light, a human Tauros appeared across the field from her. It bellowed out at her like an actual Tauros. Katana half expected him to start pawing the ground, preparing to charge, but it didn't happen.

"Nice to see you, too," Katana taunted, "lovely weather for a bloodbath, today. I assume you'd like me to cut you above the belt, right?"

"SHUT UP!" he yelled.

"Geez," Katana shook her head, "touchy, touchy. Whatever, let's just do this."

"Welcome one and all to the first match of the Third Annual Human Pokemon Tournament, the Evolution Cup!" an over-excited, male announcer's voice boomed throughout the stadium.

"Crap, I forgot," Katana mumbled, "stupid tournament regulations…guess I'd better wait before ripping this guy's heart out."

"This match is between one Abe Gerson and Aurum, the Golden Trainer!" the announcer continued, "each trainer is permitted to use a total of six Pokémon! And it looks like Aurum has begun with a human Weavile while Abe has selected a human Tauros!"

"No shit," Katana tapped her foot impatiently, "can we start already?" Across from her, the human Tauros looked like it was going to explode if he didn't get to fight soon. His face was bright red and the veins on his neck were popping out.

"Let the match begin!" the human Tauros was off even before the announcer had finished, barreling down towards Katana with the force of a freight train. Katana watched his movements, shaking her head at his clumsy footwork.

"Stampede, show no mercy!" his trainer yelled out, "Double-Edge!"

They were only three meters apart when the human Tauros shot forward, directly at Katana. But when he reached the spot where he should've hit his mark, his target was no longer there.

"Slow," Katana sighed, materializing behind Stampede. Flicking her wrist, her fingers were replaced with the razor-sharp claws of a Weavile. She slashed down her opponent's back leaving a black trail that resembled smoke wherever it touched. It wasn't enough damage to draw blood, but the sensation of her claws digging into an opponent was always a delightful one. A moment later, she flexed her hand again and the claws reverted back into fingers.

"AMAZING!" the announcer screamed, making Katana wince with annoyance, "Aurum's Weavile easily dodges the attack and counters with a Night Slash!"

"What the hell happened?" Stampede growled as he reeled from the pain. He had missed and been attacked in the span of just a split second. How could she move that fast? Weavile were naturally fast and agile, but speed like that was unreal.

"That was sad," Katana hung her head, "if that's the best you've got then you should just go home and stop wasting my time."

"Try something else," Abe called, just as confused as Stampede, "Rock Tomb!" Stampede growled as he lifted a boulder the size of his chest out of the ground before him.

"That's even worse," Katana groaned. She bounded backwards to put a dozen or so meters between them. She ducked under the first boulder with time to spare and rolled under the second as if he were throwing a Frisbee instead of a boulder the size of a medicine ball. Each attack left gaping holes in the ground and the boulders shattered harmlessly behind Katana as she practiced dodging as a warm-up for the rest of the tournament.

"Stampede switches strategies, and has begun raining boulders down at Katana," the announcer explained to the roaring crowd as they cheered for Katana, "how long will she be able to keep this up?"

After the fourth boulder clumsily flew off to her left, Katana had had enough, and she flicked her wrist and made three dagger-like icicles form in her hand. She threw them like knives directly at Stampede. The attack was perfectly on target, driving into Stampede's bicep and drawing a satisfying trickle of blood before shattering and vanishing. Reeling in pain, Stampede dropped the boulder he had been holding at his feet.

"Incredible! An Ice Shard cripples Stampede!" Katana just wanted the man to shut up so she could enjoy this.

Abe couldn't understand it. It was exactly the same as before. No matter what he did, none of his human Pokémon could even land a blow on Aurum's specially trained allies. The old man hadn't even issued orders and was just sleeping over on his platform. Abe couldn't even defeat one, and the man still had five more like this? How could it be possible? Was he really nothing but an amateur compared to Aurum? How could such a thing even be true?

"Stampede!" Abe roared his order, "Giga Impact! Take her down, now!"

Stampede hesitated before obeying. He couldn't understand what the difference was between him and his adversary. He was fast, but she was a blur compared to him. Worse yet, her trainer had been asleep for the entire fight and hadn't given her a single order. That made it impossible for Stampede to predict her next move, which he wouldn't be able to stop even if he knew what was coming. Worse still, it meant that Katana wasn't at full power. If Aurum had been giving orders, the fight would have been over already.

She was too fast, too powerful. He was helpless against her. And staring at her grin, but still being able to see the disappointment in her eyes just made him angrier.

He had one shot to take her down. He would have to make it count. Giga Impact was the strongest attack he possessed. If he didn't beat her with it, it was over.

Stampede crouched back, bracing his legs against the ground, preparing for his last, desperate lunge.

"Go on," Katana whined, impatiently, "come at me, already."

Grinding his teeth in pure rage, Stampede rocketed forward as fast as he could possibly move. Head down, he charged forward, his horns glinting in the morning sunlight. It was the fastest he had ever moved in his entire life. But, just a split second before he would've hit Katana squarely in the chest, he saw a flash of movement from where she had just been standing.

A moment later, Stampede felt Katana's booted feet settle gently on top of his head, behind his horns. Then she pushed off and his vision was blurred by dirt and gravel coming up to meet him. She had re-directed his Giga Impact to aim directly at the solid ground beneath his feet. Grinding to a halt through the dirt and gravel, Stampede could do nothing more than lie on the ground in pain, coughing against the dirt. His body had left a shallow, three-meter long trench in the ground.

Katana lazily turned around to look at her handiwork. It was a bit bigger than she had expected. Apparently the human Tauros had come at her with enough force to potentially deal her quite a bit of pain. Still, he hadn't been anywhere near fast enough to land a hit and that was just pathetic. She hadn't come back to fight weaklings like this. Where were PureBlueSky and EdgeoftheEarth when you needed them?

Groaning, Stampede managed to stagger to his feet. Every bone in his body ached. He hadn't been this hurt in months, even years. And yet, it wasn't over. Until he heard his opponent walk up behind him.

"Hi," Katana whispered, "I think I've had enough."

Whether she waited for him to turn around, or if he simply moved that fast, Stampede couldn't say. But when Katana brought her clawed hand down across his chest, it seemed to be moving in slow motion. The pain was somehow very faint, but blood sprayed everywhere, mingling with the darkness generated by the Night Slash. He never forgot the look of sheer boredom in Katana's eyes.

* * *

><p>AN: at last, the start of the first tournament fight and my first serious fight scene! it turned out pretty well, better than i expected, actually.<p>

a few quick notes on mechanics:

1.) the bleeding system reflects the color-code on the health bar in the game. little or no visible wounds would be in the green. minor wounds and some bleeding would be yellow. and finally, severe injury (though still not life-threatening) would be in the red. fainting and unconsciousness are still the same, but, like the pamphlet said, they can push themselves past that if they choose.

2.) i don't really like using the announcer, having two narrators is pretty annoying to write for. i kinda just wanted to establish that he is indeed there, i'm just going to ignore him in future matches.

thanks for reading!


	18. Aged Warriors: Abe vs Aurum Part 2

Chapter 17

Cheering exploded around Mark as he watched the human Tauros crumple up and fall face-first into the dirt. A few moments later, his unconscious form vanished from the field and returned to his master's side.

Mark blinked a few times as the reality of it set in. Kim hadn't stretched the truth about it, but hearing it from her and seeing it in person were two very different things. Blood.

"And that wraps up this battle, folks!" the announcer's voice boomed back, "No damage at all to the unbelievable Aurum and Katana! What could Abe possibly do against this deadly adversary?"

A light winked out on the scoreboards scattered around the stadium, underneath a profile picture of Abe. Four of the other slots already had started dark, leaving only one still lit. All six underneath Aurum's picture shone just as brightly, if not more so.

Mark looked around. He was the only one sitting still. He was the only one still dumb-founded by what he had just seen. Even Kim was hollering and cheering for Aurum.

Next to Mark, Maple was cheering right along with everyone else. She was excited, to say the least. In fact, she was more excited than he had ever seen her. She was bouncing up and down and cheering with enough enthusiasm that if their entire row had been silent, no one would have noticed the difference.

Not really the reaction Mark had anticipated.

He thought he might say something, but the happiness on her face stopped him. It could wait, let her enjoy the moment.

Still, after seeing the real thing, could he really put Maple into a fight like that? She had insisted on fighting before and seeing the blood apparently had no effect on her. But if he couldn't use Maple, then the only alternative left would be to drop out of the tournament.

If he dropped out, Maple would surely be disappointed, maybe even angry. They had come this far and they were just going to turn around and run? That would be weak and pathetic. But was that any better than the alternative?

So they were caught in between throwing Maple into a fight she would almost undoubtedly lose and running away and giving up without even trying. How did they want to die was the real question.

But who was Mark really worried about. Maple had come to fight and she didn't care whether she won or lost. And now one could even say that "getting hurt" didn't matter either. She knew what she was in for even better than Mark did.

So, it wasn't Maple he was worried about. That only left himself. As selfish as it was, there was the answer. If he threw Maple into a fight and lost in the first thirty seconds, he would look like a fool. He would look like a fool in front of the entire community. Every single person on this island would see just how stupid he had been to enter and compete with a single Leafeon-girl.

Down on the field, Abe was doing the same thing. Aurum was making him look like a fool without even trying. His human Weavile, Katana, was the strongest Pokémon of any form Mark had ever seen in his entire life. What did Abe stand to gain by fighting in a battle so horribly one-sided?

And then there was his opponent. It was baffling how fast and agile she was. She had dodged every attack that the human Tauros had thrown at her. A Tauros was far from being a weak opponent and Katana didn't even need her trainer to fight one.

How could she do that? Mark had already seen how much more powerful Maple had become, but Katana was an elite among the elites. What secrets did Aurum know that Abe didn't? Whatever it was, Mark didn't have the answer.

Alright, fine, he was scared. The reasons for it were obvious and staring him right in the face. Now, what was he going to do about it?

He looked back at Maple, at the grin on her face as she waited for Abe to send out his second human Pokémon. Her tailed wagged back and forth, revealing her excitement even more than the look on her face. She was eager and ready for battle. A pointless battle would still mean everything to her. All she wanted was to get back onto a battlefield.

That settled it.

If they tried and failed, then at least they had given it their best. But if they ran away, then Maple would have missed her best chance to show these people just how powerful she was. Win or lose, what mattered was that they hadn't given up without really knowing.

"Alright," Mark sighed, speaking to no one in particular. "But we need help," he leaned back and tried to think, "bad."

* * *

><p>"Shroud," Abe said, barely able to contain his frustration, "take her." He extended his arm and lightly dropped his second Pokéball onto the field. It was his last chance to prove to Aurum that he wasn't just a simple amateur. Abe was better than that, and Shroud would prove it.<p>

Katana was hoping for something a bit more impressive, but the human Hitmonlee that appeared across from her wasn't very much to look at. His face was obscured by what appeared to be bandages that left just a small slit for his eyes to poke through. His arms and legs were wrapped similarly, while the rest of him was clothed in just a simple earth-toned shirt and pants.

Shroud was nothing special, but Katana was far too experienced to let her guard down. Against her, a fighting-type opponent was the worst possible matchup. That meant a challenge. Thank Arceus, Katana wanted nothing more.

"End her," Abe said venomously, "Mach Punch." Without a sound, the human Hitmonlee shot across the field directly at Katana. Caught slightly off guard, Katana didn't try to dodge as quickly as she had against Stampede. The result was a kiss of wind brushing against her face as Shroud's fist missed her by a mere hair. Smiling, she backed away, eager to see what he would do next.

"DOUBLE KICK!" Abe screamed from across the field. The first attack came at Katana's head from the left as Shroud spun around, whipping his body as fast as he was able. But he was still too slow and Katana ducked easily.

The second attack aimed lower, directly at her mid-section, but once again, the nimble Katana dodged, bounding away and countering with an Ice Shard aimed at his face. Shroud blocked by bringing up his arm and the dagger-like icicles buried there. No blood came forth, Shroud had not yet been damaged enough, and he showed no sign of pain. He flicked his arms, dashing the icicles to pieces against the ground.

"I like you," Katana smirked.

"Now THIS is what it's all about ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer interrupted Katana's fun, "Two equally matched opponents going head to head! Who will be the victor?"

"Equal?" Katana shook her head, "you're better than the last one, but you're still an amateur. I don't blame the master for taking a nap. Any one of us could destroy both of you."

Shroud didn't respond, but just stared at Katana, patiently awaiting orders, his eyes burning with hatred. Through his years under Abe's instruction, Shroud had been beaten and trampled on over and over again. He had thrown match after match just so Abe could squeeze a little bit more money out of his opponents. Such treatment would normally break a fighter, demoralize him, and make him never want to fight again. However, it was the opposite with Shroud. The repeated losses and savage beatings sparked a hatred in him that burned so fiercely that even his trainer wasn't aware of its power. The silent Shroud had turned his pain into power and the time had come to unleash it. He was stronger than Stampede by three-fold. If Abe and his two human Pokémon were even capable of scratching Aurum, Shroud would be the one to do it.

"Hi Jump Kick!" Abe ordered. Shroud sprang twenty feet into the air directly over Katana's head. Peering curiously up at him, an idea struck her and she planted her feet, awaiting his approach. Extending his right leg, he began to hurtle towards her, ready to adjust for any attempt to dodge that Katana might employ.

But the young, female Weavile never dodged. She grabbed his foot and arching backwards, she slammed him bodily into the ground, transferring the damage from his own attack back into him.

"I wondered if that would work," Katana taunted, "You're not bad, but it's a shame your trainer is just a failure. Honestly, with him leading you it's no wonder you're so damned awful. But, at least you're keeping me entertained."

"INCREDIBLE!" the announcer came back, "Katana counters Shroud's Hi Jump Kick and deals massive damage without even attacking herself!"

But Shroud wasn't finished yet. Rising to his feet, he turned to face Katana, determined to bring her down. One blow would be all he needed. One blow and it would be finished.

Katana just sat there, so confident in her victory that she didn't bother to prepare for Shroud's next move. He couldn't stand it. Right in front of her was the embodiment of every adversary that he had ever thrown a match against. No one knew the power that he was capable of. No one cared, not even his trainer.

"Close Combat!" Abe's last effort to take Katana down would finally be put to the test. He had tried everything and nothing was good enough. How was it possible that she could be so fast and so powerful? It was mind-boggling. How many more years would he need to train to reach that kind of ability? He had to have it! He had to know!

And all the while, Aurum sat comfortably in his favorite chair, sleeping while a battle raged below his feet.

Shroud came at Katana even faster this time, punching and kicking like a madman from just a foot away. She blocked and dodged, ducking and weaving through a fury of blows, patiently looking for an opening to strike back. All the while, the grin never left her face as she watched Shroud's rage boil over in his eyes.

Finally, she saw her opportunity. She ducked underneath a high kicking attack and swept her leg in a wide arc into the back of Shroud's exposed ankle. Her opponent toppled over and once more lied on the ground, reeling from the pain.

"Such speed! Such power!" the over-enthusiastic commentary came back, "Shroud unleashes a rain of blows from Close Combat only to find himself planted on the ground again from Katana's Low Kick!"

"Finished yet?" Katana asked, peering down at Shroud, "I mean, I was hoping for more, but if you've had enough…"

At those words, the human Hitmonlee sprang back onto his feet. His body screamed with pain, but he did not show it. He couldn't be defeated like this. It was impossible. One hit, just one, good, hard hit!

Without awaiting his orders, Shroud burst at Katana one more time, unleashing the full extent of his power and attacking with Close Combat one last time. Attack after attack hit nothing but air or was casually knocked aside. Katana took every opening she had and retaliated with Night Slash. Her claws tore into Shroud's arms and chest, finally drawing blood in satisfying rivulets. It wouldn't be much longer now. Shroud was running on empty and Katana hadn't even been hit.

Panting and desperate, Shroud ceased his assault. Battered and bleeding from multiple wounds, he could hardly stand.

Katana stopped and peered at her opponent, wondering what he stood to gain by doing nothing. He was finished, and that was it. Katana could hit him with any attack she chose and he would go down. The fight had been fun, but it was over.

Shroud's fist buried directly into Katana's stomach as the human Hitmonlee used the devastatingly fast Mach Punch at close range. The attack dealt incredible damage against the defensively weak human Weavile. At last, Shroud had done it. He had his one blow, and it was perfect.

Coughing up blood, Katana was tossed backwards, bouncing along the ground into the very same trench that Stampede's body had created in the ground. She lied on her side, grimacing against the pain as she looked up at her opponent.

"You made me bleed…" Katana groaned in disbelief, but after a moment she smiled again, "good. It's been so long I forgot what it felt like. I had forgotten how it tasted." She rose to her feet, ignoring the pain, "thank you, for that. I needed it. Now disappear."

Dumbfounded by Katana's resilience to the crippling blow, Shroud no longer had the energy and the strength necessary to fight. It was his last attempt at defeating Katana, and it had failed. There was nothing left. He could hardly move and when Katana unleashed a final Ice Shard, the ten icicles she fired buried into his chest without any resistance. He crumpled on the ground, and the fight was over.

"NOOO!" Abe screamed at the morning sky. His shout startled the sleeping Aurum, who awoke suddenly and looked down at the field. There were a few craters and a deep trench in the earth as well as blood splashed her and there, but he was most surprised to see blood trickling from Katana's mouth.

The crowd erupted into cheers and chants praising Aurum and Katana's unbelievable prowess. The announcer declared Aurum the winner, as if anyone ever doubted it, and a fanfare began playing. Shroud disappeared from the field in a dull flash of red, returning to his Pokéball. Katana began limping towards Aurum, still grinning widely.

"You look hurt," Aurum said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah," Katana nodded, wiping at the blood trickling from her mouth, "I think I'm a bit rusty."

"Heh," Aurum smiled, stretching and standing up, "did you enjoy yourself, at least?"

"Absolutely," Katana laughed, "how was your nap, master?"

"Boring," Aurum sighed, "like everything else, these days."

"You just miss the kids," Katana reassured her master, "and so do I. They were always better than us."

"Whatever," Aurum shook his head and pushed the button to lower the platform, "let's get going. Just because this isn't Olivine City, it doesn't mean I can't fish."

"Sure thing, master," Katana bowed and then she too vanished with that flash of dull red light. Aurum walked off, with his folding chair underneath his arm. This time, his wrinkled, tired eyes scanned the crowd, searching for anyone he recognized.

If the kids were here, then why weren't they coming out? After all, winning meant nothing if they weren't around. Finally, Aurum gave up looking and quietly left the stadium, the crowd cheering his praises with every step he took.

* * *

><p>"Holy…" Mark sat gaping at what he had just seen. Never in his entire life had he seen a Pokémon battle like that. These human Pokémon really weren't Pokémon anymore, they were beyond that.<p>

Next to him, Maple was one of the cheering thousands praising Aurum as he walked off. She was jumping up and down, launching herself five feet into the air every time. Entirely on accident, Mark caught a peek of her underwear again. Silently cursing himself at the embarrassment, he grabbed Maple's wrist and forced her to sit still for a few seconds.

"Did you see that?" She beamed, "She's incredible! She did all that completely on her own! I was sooo terrified whenhehitherwiththatMachPunch, but she gotrightbackup and, HOLY ARCEUS, she's AMAZING!" Maple's words blended together as she ranted in pure ecstatic joy over what she had just witnessed.

"Yeah…" Mark was speechless as his mind reeled to comprehend what it all meant. Aurum had five more human Pokémon that were just as powerful and there were three more members of the Four.

There was no other option. He was desperate and he knew it. There would be only one way that would allow he and Maple even a ghost of a chance against opponents like that.

"Maple," he waited until she was calm enough to listen, which took a few tries.

"Yes?" Maple looked at him and she swore that she could see the confused fear in his eyes slowly being replaced by a quiet, yet powerful resolve. She smiled in response to that look, eager to hear what he had come up with.

"How would you like to meet them?" Mark asked. Maple simply smiled in response and the two wordlessly got up and bade Kim farewell before leaving the stadium.

* * *

><p>AN: so, that's the end of the first tournament fight. i think it went pretty well. although i'm still only using physical fighters. shooting energy beams back and forth might work out a bit differently.<p>

oh, and if you didn't notice, i'm sticking to a four move limit. that means that Stampede's moveset is Giga Impact, Rock Tomb, Wild Bolt and Double-Edge while Shroud's moveset is Double Kick, Hi Jump Kick, Close Combat and Mach Punch. pretty amateurish movesets, don't you think?

so, Mark's got a long way to go. just like this story. it's just gettin' started everybody, so, if you like it so far, there's still PLENTY of good times to be had.

thanks for reading!


	19. A Blood Soaked Flower

Chapter 18

"That was so awesome!" Ian exclaimed as he and Flurry left the stadium amidst the rest of the spectators, "I mean, I don't think there's any Pokémon in the world that's that strong! I mean, oh my God, that was incredible!"

"Yeah, Katana really is something," Flurry smiled at her guest. She had been escorting Ian around Himitsu Island since they had arrived. It was a chore that she didn't mind, but she had been unable to convince PureBlueSky to come with them, despite the fact that he didn't seem to mind the boy on their way to the ship. Of course, Sky had other things on his mind. Other people, to be more specific.

"Hey," Ian stopped, an idea occurring to him, "you know them, right?"

"Oh, yes," Flurry nodded, "we know them. Aurum trained Sky and the rest of the Four, after all."

"Wow," Ian marveled, "was he the old guy in that picture at the house?"

"He sure was," Flurry answered, "Aurum's been training Pokémon and human Pokémon for almost his entire life. We owe a lot to him."

"Cool…" Ian paused again, "can we meet them?"

"Oh," Flurry stopped, the idea had never really crossed her mind, "sure, I guess we can. He should be leaving the stadium right about now. Let's see if we can catch him."

Flurry led the boy around the edge of the stadium, heading for the competitor's entrance that she had used herself on several occasions. The stadium itself brought back wonderful memories for her. Inside she had fought alongside Sky with Tempest and the rest of his human Pokémon.

In just a few more days she'd be back inside. Strangely, she felt nervous. She hadn't felt nervous about a match since the first year. Back then, Sky and the rest of the Four had been together. They were a small family leading a bigger family of human Pokémon and around them an entire world came into existence, thrived and grew larger and larger.

But those days were gone. The Four were broken and so was Sky. Flurry would give anything to have those days back again.

"Hey, look! A Leafeon!" Ian suddenly exclaimed, darting ahead to meet a young Leafeon-girl and a boy that were both just teenagers. They were looking around the outside of the stadium, completely lost. The boy looked nervous and worried, but the Leafeon-girl just continued skipping around and chattered away about the battle that had just ended.

The girl noticed Ian first. Smiling, she turned to talk to him as he trotted up to greet them.

The first time Flurry laid eyes on the pair; there was nothing to indicate that this would be THE Mark Diamond and his human Leafeon, Maple. But, at that time, they were still just kids. They were lost and still trying to figure out who they were and what they wanted. They did not yet know what they could become.

So, when Flurry walked up to meet them, she thought that they were just like any other newcomers to the tournament. She didn't realize what it would lead to.

"Hi," the Leafeon-girl said cheerfully as she bounded up to stand in front of Flurry, "my name's Maple and this is Mark! What'syourname? I've never met another human Eevee-evolution, that'ssocool! Of course, I've only been a human for a few weeks, so, I guess that makes sense. But, anyways, it's so nice to meet you!" Maple scarcely paused to breathe during her introduction and Flurry caught only half of it. Fortunately, she had heard the most important bits.

"Oh," Flurry said, unable to react, at first, "my name's Flurry. I'm with PureBlueSky."

"PureBlueSky?" the boy Maple called Mark spoke up and stared down at Ian, "_you're_ PureBlueSky?"

"Yep!" Ian lied, and Mark's bottom jaw practically hit the ground.

"Ian!" Flurry scolded, "no, no, no, no, he's not PureBlueSky. Sky's not here, right now. He's…well, he's just not here." Mark's expression switched from horrified shock back to general confusion, while Maple grew worried.

"Oh, okay," Mark shook his head, "you see, we're trying to find Aurum. You don't happen to know where he is, do you?"

"Oh, sure," Flurry nodded, "he should be coming out of the stadium, soon. We were actually on our way to see him, too."

"Oh, cool!" Maple exclaimed, "we can go together, then!" She began skipping away, in the wrong direction, and Flurry had to chase after her to get her on the right track, again.

As they walked, Mark explained to Flurry how Maple had evolved two weeks ago, and they had come to Himitsu Island to learn more about what that meant. In the meantime, they had registered for the tournament. However, Mark's main fear, and Flurry agreed with his opinion, was that they were vastly unprepared to compete.

"If you're really afraid, you can just drop out," Flurry said, feeling concerned for the kid, "no one will think any less of you for it."

"Yeah, I know, but…" he looked ahead of them to Maple, who was re-living the first fight of the tournament with Ian. He lowered his voice before continuing, "she really wants to do it and…I don't really want to say 'no.'"

Flurry couldn't help but grin at this statement. The story behind the two kids was becoming clearer. Whenever Maple looked at him, Flurry could see what had motivated the former Leafeon to evolve into a girl. The feeling reflected in the boy's eyes wasn't quite the same, though. It was weaker than Maple's, as unsure of itself as the boy himself was. A lot would depend on what happened to them next.

But there was something else that seemed curious about the two. There was something about Mark and Maple that Flurry couldn't quite put her finger on. Maybe Maple was a bit more energetic than her and Mark was a bit more insecure than him, but the resemblance was uncanny, even eerie. Somehow, Maple reminded her of RiverofTears and Mark resembled PureBlueSky. Back before things had changed.

"Oh, we're here," Flurry said, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

There was nothing particularly special about the competitor's entrance to the stadium. It was really just a non-descript door in the side of a building. But when Aurum walked through, with his folding chair still tucked under his arm and the straw hat balanced precariously on top of his head, Flurry couldn't help but smile at the old man that had taught her so much.

"What the hell is this?" Aurum grumbled, peering at the four kids that were waiting for him. He only recognized Flurry at first, but after a second, the nervous teenage boy and the human Leafeon with eyes the size of dinner plates rang a bell. But he didn't have time to think if he knew their names or not before the Leafeon-girl and the small boy at her side began assailing him with praise and congratulations.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, thanks" Aurum waved them down, "what do you kids want?"

"My name's Ian," the small boy began before Aurum was finished, "I'm here with Flurry and PureBlueSky. That fight was amazing, I mean, I can't-"

"Sky's here?" Aurum ignored Ian and looked directly at Flurry.

"He's…around," Flurry hesitated, "somewhere." Aurum nodded, as if not really surprised that PureBlueSky himself had not come to congratulate him. Silently, Aurum was hurt that he hadn't.

"Umm…sir?" Maple gently tried to get the old man's attention, "I don't know if you remember me from the boat. My name's Maple, by the way. I know your name, but, I guess, everybody does…" Aurum raised an eyebrow, waiting for the point.

"But, anyways," Maple tried to control herself, "I just want to say, thank you."

"For what?" Aurum peered at the strange girl.

"That battle was really inspiring," Maple began, "I mean, to think that you and Katana could be that strong. I know that I'm not anywhere close to that, right now. But that's my dream now. I want to be able to do what you just did."

The old man watched her impassively, studying her expression as she praised his accomplishments. After a moment, he turned to the boy at the back of the group. He had just been standing there silently, just a scared little kid that didn't know what to do next.

"And who the hell are you?" Aurum growled at the boy, "speak up, if you want to be heard."

"I need you to train us," Mark responded.

"Really?" Aurum snorted laughter, "and why should I do that?"

"Because there's no other way," Mark admitted, "because I brought Maple here and it's going to be my fault if she gets hurt. It'll be my fault for not training her. For not, protecting her." As he spoke, he clenched his fists and closed his eyes. He still vividly remembered the splash of blood that had come out when Katana had ripped the final blow into Stampede. He didn't think he could bare it if something like that happened to Maple.

"That's not something I can prevent," Aurum shook his head, "you fight, you get hurt. That's how it works. No amount of training can change that. Not even the best, and I _am_ the best, can promise you that."

"Yes, I know, but-" Mark started.

"But _NOTHING_!" Aurum roared, "this world is not nice to people. It will beat you and tear you apart! The sooner you learn that, the better off you'll be. You're nothing but a stupid little kid! Do some growing and learn what the world really is!"

"I-" but Mark couldn't finish. Aurum was right. What the hell was he doing here? He knew nothing about what was happening and there was no way that he'd be able to protect Maple, no matter how much he wanted to. He was still just too young, too weak…

"You don't really believe that," Maple's voice was barely louder than a whisper, "do you?"

Aurum turned to look into those eyes. There was a little girl standing in front of him. It was a little girl that wanted to fight. She knew what would happen if she went out there. But that didn't stop her.

"Why do you want to fight?" Aurum asked her, "what's out there, on the battlefield, that's worth the pain and the blood?"

_What the hell are you?_

Maple flinched when the thought crossed her mind. She closed her eyes, hardening her resolve, before continuing.

"Because it's a part of who I am," Maple said, "and I can't just let go of it. I won't."

Aurum looked back and forth from the Leafeon-girl and her trainer several times. There was something odd about them. They reminded him of his old kids, somehow. His kids, before they had grown up. It was PureBlueSky and RiverofTears all over again. Apparently, some things never changed.

"Alright," Aurum nodded, smiling slightly, "meet me at the edge of the Kieru Forest in one hour. We'll start your training, then."

Maple cheered and flung herself at the old man. She hugged him tightly, knocking his hat off while she thanked him over and over again. After a second, she turned to a dumbfounded Mark and hugged him twice as hard.

"Alright, now get out of here before I change my mind," Aurum groaned as he bent down to pick up his hat. The two teenagers smiled at each other and departed, leaving Ian and Flurry alone with Aurum.

Aurum sighed as he watched them go. Had he been too harsh on the boy? It always was a bad habit of his to be harsher on the trainer. Still, it was the trainer who was responsible for what happened on the field. If the boy wasn't ready to accept that, then there was nothing Aurum could do for him.

"Is it true you trained PureBlueSky?" Ian asked the old man.

"Yes," he nodded, "the Four wouldn't be four without me, I suppose you could say."

"Wow…" Ian marveled.

"Is something wrong, master Aurum?" Flurry asked, gently.

"It's nothing to worry yourself over, Flurry," Aurum reassured her, "just the sentiments of a tired, spent old man."

"You really do miss them," Flurry sighed.

"Tell me, something, Flurry," Aurum started as he stared off into space, "did those kids remind you of anyone?"

"Of, course," she shrugged, "they're just like them."

"Why do you suppose that is?" the old trainer asked.

"I don't know," Flurry admitted.

"Hmm…maybe we just want them to be the same…" Aurum sighed.

"I'm not sure what you mean, master," Flurry replied.

"Hmm…neither do I," Aurum started to walk away, "but I can feel it when I look in their eyes. Those two are special, just like they were."

"You sound like a romantic story-teller, master," Flurry smiled.

"I do?" Aurum stopped and turned to look at Flurry, again, "I suppose this place can change anybody."

"I hope you're right," PureBlueSky's human Glaceon said, looking up at the sun.

* * *

><p>"<em>Holy, sweet Arceus<em>!" Maple hopped and skipped around Mark as they made their way back to the hotel to prepare for Aurum's training. Mark could hardly believe it, either. He had tried one last-ditch effort to save them by throwing himself at the mercy of Aurum. And just when it looked as though they would be turned away, Maple had somehow said the magic words to make him train them.

Luck. That was all it was, pure luck.

Even still, just because Aurum had said 'yes' it didn't mean that he would actually go through with it. They would have to prove themselves to him. If they couldn't do it, it was all over and they wouldn't have a prayer…

"Hey, you!" a gruff voice called out to them from up the road, "yeah, I know you! That blond kid said you had a Leafeon! Said you entered the tournament with just one human Pokémon!"

"Oh, crap…" Mark muttered. The man in front of him was deeply tanned, despite his blond hair, which was raised up into an absurd Mohawk. He stood nearly six and half feet tall and he made Mark look like a toothpick. He was flanked on both sides by two cronies of similar, yet smaller, build. He held out a Pokéball in front of him and Mark knew instinctively what that meant.

"Eww…" Maple stopped skipping and grimaced at the man, "I didn't think there were any bikers here…"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the man yelled, "I'm the best solo human Pokémon trainer on the island and don't you forget it! I'll crush you myself right here and now!"

"Please tell me you're kidding…" Mark sighed. But the man didn't hear and he threw out his Pokéball. A moment later, it popped open and the flash of white light faded to reveal a human Blastoise standing ready for battle.

He stood probably just an inch shorter than his over-sized trainer and was stocky and muscular. His arms and legs were massive as were the two water cannons mounted on his shoulders. His tan vest and blue pants mirrored the coloring of a regular Blastoise. And although Mark couldn't get a good look at it from this angle, around the edge of the Blastoise-man's frame, Mark could make out what appeared to be a shell on his back.

After a moment, the Blastoise-man peered down at Maple, smiling a half-smile that asked the world if he really looked as good as he thought he did. Maple looked up at him and her eyes slowly widened with unexpected fear at the sheer size of him.

"Hey, don't forget," Mark leaned forward to whisper into Maple's ear, "he's a water-type and you're a grass-type. Size means nothing, but type means everything. You can do this." Apparently this was their lucky day. First Aurum agreed to train them and now Maple's first battle as a human Pokémon was against something she had a type advantage against.

Nodding eagerly and stepping forward, Maple faced her first battle.

"Diesel, Mega Punch!" Mohawk-man ordered. The Blastoise-man stepped forward, striking out with a massive right hook.

Maple ducked under the blow, avoiding it just in time. Her heart was already racing with excitement as the attack whizzed past her head, making her ears swish to the right side of her head. She had successfully dodged it, but it was a clumsy attack to begin with. Katana would've laughed at it.

Trying out a sudden idea, Maple ducked under the next attack and tried to vault herself up over top of her massive opponent by grabbing onto his arm for leverage. But the risky maneuver back-fired and Diesel grabbed her waist in mid-jump, slamming her to the ground at his feet.

"Ice-Beam," the Mohawk-man grinned as victory was already within reach. Maple stared up in horror at the mention of those words. The two things she feared the most were fire and ice. The two water-cannons aimed directly down at her and frost began to form around the nozzles as the super-cooled water was prepared for the attack.

"_Maple_! _Leaf-Blade, NOW_!" Mark screamed. Maple made her tail go rigid as she whipped it around and slashed directly across Diesel's mid-section, cutting into him an inch deep. A spray of blood splashed across Maple's chest and the massive human Blastoise dropped to one knee. The frost around the water-cannons began to fade as the attack was interrupted by the extreme damage done.

Maple scrambled backward and sprang to her feet again. Ready for the next move, she watched intently, her eyes darting everywhere. But another attack didn't come, and the battle was already over. The familiar flash of red signaled Diesel's disappearance and defeat at the hands of Maple, who was almost completely unharmed.

"Holy shit," one of the Mohawk man's cronies stared in awe, "she beat Diesel in one attack…" A moment later, the entire group was running away in confusion and panic.

"That's right!" Maple called after them, taunting, "And don't ever come back! 'Cause I'll do it all over again!"

Grinning, she turned back to look at Mark. A strange look of shock appeared on his face when she turned to him. Ignoring it, she moved forward to hug him in celebration. But, to her disbelief, he took a step back.

"What's wrong?" Maple asked, cocking her head to the side, slightly, "Mark?"

But he didn't respond for the first few seconds.

_Blood_, he thought, _that's a lot of blood. She doesn't even realize it's bad_.

Maple's clothes were virtually soaked with the thick, red liquid. As he watched, Diesel's blood began to run down the front of Maple's dress and drip onto the ground. A few drops landed on her bare feet, but she didn't take notice. Sweet, gentle, Maple, was covered in blood.

"Mark?" Maple's ears began to droop and she slowly curled her hands together in front of her. Why did he look so afraid? What was he afraid of? There was no one around but her…

_Say something, dammit_! Mark thought, _Anything! God, she's terrified! Say something!_

"Blood," it was the only word he could say and it was barely a whisper when he said it. He raised a shaking finger to point at her blood-soaked dress.

"Huh?" dumbfounded, Maple looked down at the blood on her as if she had splashed paint on herself. It wasn't a big deal. There was just a little bit of red stuff on her. But why was he so scared?

"That's a lot of blood," Mark said, unable to control his shock at the sight of so much of it right in front of him.

_What the hell are you?_

It was that all over again. But it was worse. This time, _Mark _was staring at her with that same wide-eyed fear. Maple just couldn't understand it. Why was he looking at her like that? _Why_?

Terrified that Mark was terrified, Maple cupped her hands and held her arms against her body, as if she were shivering in cold rain.

"We'd better get you cleaned up," Mark finally managed to force himself to speak with some sense again. He walked forward and held Maple's shoulders, trying to reverse the fear that he had caused. Bypassing that, Maple pushed against his chest, seeking the comfort that she usually found there.

_What just happened_? Mark thought. He didn't realize at the time that some of the blood on Maple began to soak into his own clothes.

* * *

><p>AN: when i gave this story its initial rating of M, this is the chapter that i was worried about. It's been toned down, though, so we're good. this chapter is also the main reason why i chose to have blood at all. it's massively important to the storyline.<p>

That'll be all, thanks for reading!


	20. Blood and Tears

Chapter 19

Volt hadn't liked the little blond bastard since the moment he had first seen him. There was something that just wasn't plain right about him. Maple had picked up on it, which only served to reassure Volt that something really was wrong with him. It wasn't a look or a smell that tipped him off, but more of an intuition. More importantly, he was starting to understand what it had meant.

The Raichu-boy had taken it upon himself to investigate the kid after his sudden disappearance that morning, something that only Volt took notice of. The subsequent rumors about a blond kid raising hype over Mark's single human Pokémon entry only raised his suspicions. Not that Volt should care, but why the hell would he do something like that?

What bothered him the most wasn't the kid himself, but rather the humans' refusal to recognize that something wasn't quite right. For that fact alone, Volt felt grateful that he was still more Pokémon than human. He needed those senses and the added power that came along with it. Because if this kid intended to harm him or any of his friends, then Volt would end him, no questions asked.

Trusting his instincts to be suspicious of the kid, Volt had spent the entire morning tracking him down. He finally found the kid in the square around mid-morning, right around the time the first match would be starting. Lionel was talking with a few other trainers. Hoping to do some eavesdropping, Volt did his best to blend in with the crowd. A near impossible feat anywhere else, Volt was greatly aided by the ever-present mixture of strange ears and tails.

But he didn't get close enough to hear anything before Lionel turned to leave.

Volt was careful to keep his distance as he followed the boy. He stayed a block or so behind him, blending in with any other pedestrians when possible. This became harder and harder as Lionel moved closer to his destination.

He headed east, back towards the docks and the waterfront. At first Volt was afraid he was following him to the beaches, but when he shifted south, he confirmed that the boy was heading for a stretch of warehouses not that far from the main port. Wherever the kid was going, it was out of the way. Volt was getting lucky.

He had to widen the distance between himself and Lionel. Out here the streets were deserted. The entire waterfront was shut down. The workers that normally populated this area were all off during the busy tourism season the tournament created. If Lionel was hiding something, this would be the best spot on the island to do it.

Suddenly, Lionel hooked a right and was gone from Volt's sight.

Volt sprinted to catch up with him. He threw caution to the wind, afraid that he would lose his target. He told himself that he would be fine. If Lionel caught him, then he could just confront the little bitch with no witnesses around. If he resisted, Volt could either take him on or run. What really mattered was finding out what he was up to.

He hooked a right. It must have been the very same turn that Lionel had made, but somehow the boy was gone. There was nothing down the alleyway besides a flight of concrete steps leading up to the side-door of a warehouse. Nothing unusual or strange about it.

Frustrated, Volt scanned the alley looking for anything suspicious. The only thing he noticed was a single security camera watching the side entrance.

He considered the camera. It wasn't that unusual. Plenty of companies and businesses has security cameras watching their warehouses. Had there been others around? Volt didn't remember seeing any, but that didn't mean they weren't there.

_Dammit_, Volt thought, _all that for nothing_.

The trail was gone. There was nothing left to do but start over. Whatever Lionel was doing, Volt wasn't going to find any answers here.

The Raichu-boy turned to leave. But before he did, he shot a Thunderbolt at the camera. Yellow lightning streaked from his body and hit the camera, causing it to explode into a shower of sparks.

Feeling slightly better, Volt left the area.

* * *

><p>For some reason, no one else stopped Mark and Maple on their way back to the hotel room. Apparently, a human Pokémon covered with blood was a common sight here. It made Mark wonder what the reaction would be if he screamed bloody murder in the middle of the square. Himitsu Island was getting weirder all the time.<p>

Wiping off the small amount of blood that Mark had gotten on himself wasn't difficult, but Maple's dress had become so soaked with the thick red liquid that it was going to stain no matter what they did. Still, that didn't stop Mark from doing his best to scrub it out by hand while Maple still wore it and nervously sat on the toilet in their hotel bathroom.

"Mark?" Maple's voice squeaked out of her. It was the first word either one of them had spoken since it had happened. But either Mark hadn't heard, or he chose not to respond, because he kept scrubbing away at the bottom of her skirt. The blood stain was the thinnest there, but Mark still made almost no progress.

Maple's dress now had a dull, red tint to it across her chest that streaked down her front to the bottom of her skirt, as well as a few other random blotches around her waist. Mark had managed to clean off most of it, but there had just been so much that avoiding a stain was outright impossible.

"Mark?" Maple tried again, trying to speak a bit louder.

"You should change into a new dress," Mark said without looking up, his voice was expressionless.

"O-okay," Maple nodded. She didn't know what to say. Mark had been distant ever since the fight and he didn't seem to be coming back. Worse, she still couldn't understand what the problem was.

They hadn't done anything wrong. Pokémon battles and human Pokémon battles happened all the time, but Mark never had a reaction like this to a Pokémon battle. The only difference was the blood. Was that it? Was Mark afraid of the blood? Why?

"Mark," Maple tried again, "why are you afraid of the blood?"

Finally, he stopped the pointless scrubbing and looked up at Maple, her big, brown eyes wide with fear. A fear of what he was about to say.

"Maple," he sighed, "I'm not sure if you know this, but making somebody bleed is a bad thing." Maple nodded in response. Of course she knew that, how couldn't she?

"It's bad, because it means you hurt somebody," he hesitated for a brief moment, "you hurt them really, really badly."

"Well, I know, but…" Maple started.

"Maple, please. Let me finish," Mark sighed, "I know things are different here. I know that you're not a Pokémon, anymore. I can accept that. But this isn't a game."

"I know, but…" Maple started. Unexpectedly, she found herself becoming angry at him. She didn't want to be afraid. She couldn't stand it, and he wasn't even giving her a chance to explain. What could she do to make it all better if he wouldn't listen?

"Maple," Mark continued to ignore Maple's interjections, "you can't fight. I won't let you. I'm dropping out of the tournament."

"WHAT?" Maple was on her feet in an instant. Her big, brown eyes grew twice as large as panic spread across her face. She knocked Mark back as stood up, but, somehow, she didn't care. "No…" in the next second, Maple's anger and fear were replaced with despair. She lowered her eyes as she fought back tears, "you can't."

"I don't want you to get hurt," Mark tried to explain, "there's just too much that could go wrong."

"But…" Maple panted as she fought against the panic trying to take over, "but, that's why we're going to see Aurum. So I can get stronger. Right? What if those guys come back? I have to fight them, again, right?"

"Maple," Mark shut his eyes, "please understand. You're not a Leafeon anymore. You're a girl."

"No," Maple shook her head, "I'm both. I can't be one, I have to be both. Please try to understand that. I have to fight. Please, let me."

"I'm sorry," Mark couldn't look at her, if he did, he might change his mind, "but this is for your own good."

"No," Maple whispered, "you're wrong." With tears in her eyes, Maple turned and left.

* * *

><p>"Son," Eric's father was trying to be strong, trying not to show the pain and the fear in his voice, but his son knew him too well, "Mommy is…very sick, right now." Eric felt the weight of his father's big, strong hands settle on his shoulders. "Mommy…needs us. She needs us to be strong for her. Can you do that? Do you think you can be strong for Mommy?"<p>

Eric couldn't remember what the hospital looked like. It was just a maze of white shadowed by dark faces. He was too young to see anything clearly. The boy was only five years old and his mother was dying.

His father told him that there was something dark growing inside his mother. Growing always sounded like it was good, before. Growing meant things got bigger. The plants outside grew, animals grew, and even Eric himself grew all of the time. None of that was ever a bad thing. But the dark thing inside his mother…when that grew it was hurting her. It was taking everything away.

The only spot of color he could remember from the hospital was the Mudkip at his side. Eric's father had given it to him the same way some kids might get a puppy. He wasn't supposed to train it, it was just a pet. Still, he cherished his pet because he was the only spot of color in the entire hospital. Everything else was just plain white and black.

He hadn't picked a name, yet. His Mudkip deserved a good name. Whenever his father disappeared, which he did more and more often, it was the Mudkip that helped put a smile on his face. Its smooth skin was always slick, even out of water, and it would slide up and down the hallways on its back to cheer him up. Sometimes he would sit in front of Eric and mimic what the boy did. One day they played a face-making game that lasted for hours. Sometimes the Mudkip would simply nuzzle close to him and that was exactly what Eric needed to be strong like his father wanted. It seemed like the Mudkip was stronger than both of them.

But, no matter how brave Eric and his father were, it couldn't change what was going to happen. Eric's father disappeared for longer and longer times during those last few days.

And when Eric went with his father and saw his mother, it was never who he remembered it was. His mother was a strong, beautiful woman whose smile filled Eric's world with light. The tired woman on the bed, racked with pain…that couldn't be his mother. But, then, she smiled. Then Eric knew that it was his mother, and she would be leaving him soon. Then there would be nothing left but Eric, his father, and his Mudkip.

* * *

><p>"Well, come on then," Tsunami growled, "come at me, already!" Tsunami was squaring off against a human Scyther. Tsunami's opponent was bent forward, twirling dual, curved swords in his hands. He wore a close-fitting green shirt and shorts that matched the spiky green hair on top of his head. His translucent wings were spread out across his back.<p>

All in all, he looked like he might snap like a twig. It was a deceptive trait considering that he could get hit by a car traveling 70 mph and be perfectly fine. Frail by human Pokémon standards didn't really mean frail.

Finally, the human Scyther fell for Tsunami's taunt and came at him. Charging forward and slicing with the curved swords, it cut into Tsunami's chest. He easily took the blow without even dodging.

However, it wasn't Tsunami's plan to dodge, and Eric wasn't bothered that he didn't try. Eric's best friend since those dark days in the hospital was always made of tougher stuff than that. A few cuts, even from a human Scyther, wouldn't be enough to take Tsunami down. So, instead of dodging, he focused on an idea that he had, and it had paid off. He now held his opponent's wrist firmly in his right hand.

"Stone Edge," Eric grinned. Maintaining his restrictive grip on the human Scyther's wrist, Tsunami reached down to the pavement at his feet. He produced a sharpened boulder roughly half a yard in diameter. Tsunami smiled at it, gently tossing it up and down a few times, testing its weight.

"Shit," the human Scyther's eyes went wide.

An instant later, Tsunami smashed the boulder directly into the human Scyther's chest. He immediately was sent sprawling onto the pavement, a puddle of blood rapidly forming around his body as he coughed and retched, his body convulsing from the pain.

"Thank you, thank you," Tsunami grinned as he spread his hands in a gesture of mock humility. In his own mind, confetti and streamers fell around him while a crowd chanted his name. However, on the streets of Himitsu Island, such was not the case.

He turned back to look at Eric and Fernelia who were both celebrating in their own way. Eric was jumping up and down cheering while Fernelia smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Not bad, kid," the teenage boy that had owned the human Scyther walked up behind Tsunami to congratulate Eric on his victory, "I guess you really are tough enough to compete in this thing."

"'Course I am," Eric grinned.

"You really are something, kid," the boy said, shaking his head, "how old did you say you were? Ten? You've gotta be the youngest person in this tournament. Where are your parents, anyway?"

"Parents?" Eric didn't quite understand the question, at first. Then he gestured to Tsunami and Fernelia, "these are my parents."

"Uh…right," the boy looked back and forth between the two human Pokémon and Eric, "well, anyways, I guess this tournament's full of weirdos."

"Weirdos?" Tsunami raised an eyebrow and took a step closer to the boy, deciding if he should be offended.

"Well, not weirdos," the boy took a step back after seeing the look in Tsunami's eyes, "I mean, just different really. Like, there's actually somebody competing with one human Pokémon. I mean, who _does_ that? It's not forbidden, but still, you've gotta be crazy to compete with just one."

"What's so weird about that?" Eric asked, "I'd compete with one. That'd be fine with me."

"Really?" the boy was taken aback by Eric's statement, but after a second he decided that he really wouldn't know any better, "well, anyway, he's using a human Leafeon. Pretty easy pickings if you ask me. Well, I should get going. I'll be rooting for you in the tournament, kiddo."

"'Kiddo'?" the word left a bad taste in Eric's mouth, but the trainer was gone before he could properly respond.

"A human Leafeon?" Fernelia reflected, "could that be Mark?"

"The kid from the boat?" Tsunami thought it over, as well, "probably is. I wonder what happened to them after we landed…"

"Yeah, me too," Eric said, "they didn't seem to know a lot about what's going on. I hope they're okay…"

"Hey," Tsunami put his strong hands on Eric's shoulders, the same way his father did, so long ago, "you leave the worrying to us adults. Besides, that girl had this really crazy look in her eye. They'll be fine, trust me." Eric smiled back into Tsunami's strong, kind face and Tsunami felt stronger as well.

"Alright, let's head back to the hotel," Tsunami directed his family, "I'm getting hungry." He didn't mention the dull pain in his chest.

"You just ate an hour ago," Fernelia reminded him.

"Hey," Tsunami rebuked, "fighting works up an appetite. Gotta keep my strength up for the big match."

"Yes, yes, yes," Fernelia smirked. But then her husband stopped, peering ahead of them at something on the horizon. After a moment, Fernelia could make out a girl with Leafeon ears running towards them. Her eyes were shut and she wasn't watching where she was going, but nonetheless she didn't trip or stumble or run into anyone. She was just running as fast as she possibly could, directly west, towards the forest.

By the time the group of three thought to call out to Maple, she was already running past them. She wouldn't have heard even if they had said anything. She was running too fast. Fernelia noticed that most of her dress was no longer the gentle shade of earth-brown it was before. Now, most of Maple's dress was stained red.

* * *

><p>AN: not even i saw this plot twist coming. i was in the middle of writing their conversation and saw where it was going and was like "oh, crap...umm...i can work with this." sometimes you just never know where your characters are going to take you.<p>

thanks for reading and see you next week!


	21. The Monster Within

Chapter 20

Maple didn't stop running until she was at the edge of the Kieru Forest. That was when she realized that she was standing on grass again. She hadn't stepped on grass since before she and Mark had arrived in Olivine City. After that was the ship and after that was Himitsu Island. Nothing but metal, pavement, and concrete.

That was actually how she had found the forest. No directions were necessary; her feet just knew where to take her. She didn't even care where she was going, as long as it was away from everything back there. Away from the pain and the fear and the fighting. Away from Mark.

Maple looked around. The city shot skyward behind her, the massive hotel at its center. Around that, the skyline of the buildings sloped downwards, eventually stopping and giving way to the wilderness that dominated the island long before humans had even thought of burying it in steel and concrete.

She stood a full mile away from the edge of the street. The tree line started here, marking the border into the lush forest. She could hear the flow of a river, somewhere in the middle of the trees. Mirroring the city, the trees sloped upward, this time going north towards the mountain looming in the distance. The massive mountain was the size of the entire city at its base, and its peak reached nearly twice as high.

It was here, on the border between humans and nature, where Maple stopped. Once she stopped running, everything caught up with her and she realized what had happened. Running was all she could do to stop the pain from coming back. But as soon as she stopped, it caught her. She could do nothing more but sink down to her knees and cry.

Why couldn't he understand? Why was there so much fear in his eyes when he looked at her? Why was everything this hard? She was supposed to be happy, but everything was falling apart and there was nothing she could do. Why had she ever evolved if all it would do was bring pain?

None of these questions could be answered. But, eventually, through sheer exhaustion, the tears stopped flowing. In a daze, Maple lied down on the grass and curled up, tucking her tail behind her legs. Willing the pain away, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the feel of the grass against her.

She was still lying in that same position when a tired, old voice called out to her.

"Weren't there two of you this morning?"

Maple shot up, startled to hear Aurum's voice. The old man was just a dozen yards away, walking towards her with his folding chair underneath his arm. Flushing with embarrassment, Maple stammered and stuttered, trying to explain too many things at once. After a few seconds of trying to sort out the nonsense, Aurum put up his hand.

"It doesn't really matter, anyway," Aurum sighed, "you still want to train, don't you?"

Without hesitation, Maple nodded vigorously.

"Then follow me," Aurum walked straight past Maple without stopping, "the fish aren't just going to jump out of the water, after all."

Her spirits lifted after seeing the old man, Maple turned and trotted after him, into the Kieru Forest.

He led her, in silence, for another fifteen minutes through the trees. He didn't once stop to get his bearings or check their surroundings, despite the fact that they weren't following a path at all. He had gone this way too many times to have to question such simple details.

Forestland Pokémon of all kinds scampered through the underbrush around them. None reacted with hostility, but just trotted away from the two intruders into deeper sections of the forest.

Maple couldn't help but feel uneasy around them. Ever since the first Rattata had reacted violently towards her, she no longer knew what Pokémon would do if they saw her. Her eyes darted around, watching the movements of every Pokémon in the forest. She looked for something, anything that might treat her as one of their own. But none did. They hid as if she were just another human. Maple was starting to feel as if she didn't belong anywhere.

Aurum led Maple to a pond in the middle of a large clearing. One of the streams, breaking off from the river, flowed through here on its way out to sea. The water current was a gentle, patient flow that barely made a sound as it flowed through the forest.

Maple had never seen water so beautiful in her entire life. It sparkled with life and was magnificently clear. She put her face right up to it in child-like wonder and watched the fish and water Pokémon alike swim peacefully through the water.

Without stopping, Aurum unfolded his chair and planted it along the northern edge of the pond. He unfolded a collapsible fishing rod and set to work.

"So, when do we start?" Maple asked excitedly, "What do we do first?"

"You said your name's Maple, right?" Aurum asked and Maple nodded, "you have two days until your first match, right?" Again, Maple nodded. "Then you're getting a crash course."

"What do you mean?" Maple asked, tilting her head to the side.

"We don't have time to play around," Aurum said flatly, "you'll learn by doing." Aurum withdrew Katana's Pokéball and threw it behind him.

The young woman Weavile, fully recovered, appeared in front of Maple. Katana looked Maple up and down and grimaced before glancing at her trainer.

"Master, I'm not fighting this…am I?" Katana said, not bothering to hide the disdain in her voice.

"We're giving lessons, again," Aurum said dryly, not removing his eyes from his fishing pole, "you have an apprentice. Congratulations."

"An apprentice?" Katana looked Maple up and down again, "no offense, Master, but your 'retirement' doesn't seem to mean anything."

"Just do it, already," Aurum sighed, "if you need a challenge, then remember that she's by herself in the whole tournament and the first match is in two days."

"By herself?" Katana raised an eyebrow at Maple. Throughout their conversation, Maple had no idea what to say. Her chosen idol was standing right in front of her and was going to train her. She couldn't have asked for anything better.

"Kid was stupid enough to enter with one human Pokémon," Aurum explained, "now they won't back down because she's just as stupid."

"Fair enough," Katana shrugged, "what's your name?"

"Umm…Maple," the little girl squeaked.

"Maple…cute…" Katana said without expression. Turning away from Maple, Katana walked back towards the forest, putting twenty yards between the two of them. "Alright, come at me, then."

"W-What?" Maple squeaked a second time.

"Fight me," Katana said it as if it were as natural as breathing, "you expect to get better at fighting without fighting?"

"No…" Maple shook her head.

"Welllll," Katana groaned, "then fight me, already." Katana took a firm stance, placing one hand in front of her, and motioned for Maple to come at her.

Still unsure of what was happening, Maple didn't react right away. She honestly hadn't known what to expect from training with Aurum, but this somehow did not seem like a possibility. This would certainly be one of the fastest ways to train. Yet, she didn't really feel as if she could fight.

The first two times she had been fighting to defend herself. But something about attacking didn't feel right. Was that a human side of her?

Shaking her head, Maple bent forward and ran at Katana. Coming in close, Maple slashed at her with her tail. Spinning and twirling, she slashed at Katana again and again, but hit nothing.

Katana dodged the attacks with barely any effort. Worse, Maple couldn't follow her movements. Katana was a blur that faded only a thousandth of a second before Maple's Leaf Blade slashed into her. Maple might as well have been fighting a ghost.

After a few minutes, Katana tired of the ease of it all and she kicked Maple in the stomach, sending her rolling backwards along the ground.

"That was disgusting!" Katana spat, "Don't bother coming here looking for training if you're not even going to take it seriously!"

"I'm sorry…" Maple coughed, slowly getting back onto her feet.

"Sorry, nothing!" Katana was furious at how weak her "apprentice" was, "where's the fire? Where's the will to fight? You're a Pokémon, dammit! Act like one!"

Again, Maple came after Katana, slashing repeatedly with no results. She couldn't understand it. What had she done wrong? Was the gap in skill that drastic? How could she train like this against someone she couldn't even see?

But a part of her mind told her that wasn't the whole story. Maple wasn't fighting her hardest, that much was true. But, why? Was she somehow unconsciously holding back? What could make her do that?

This time, Katana slipped behind Maple and punched her squarely in the back, sending her face-first into the dirt.

"What's wrong with you?" Katana fumed, "you actually got worse…"

"I'm sorry," Maple coughed into the dirt a second time.

"Is that all you can say?" Katana shook her head, "I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to fight me like you mean it."

Maple got to her feet a little more slowly this time and Katana noticed something in the girl's eyes that she hadn't before. She remembered that look. Tempest had it in her eyes.

"Where's your trainer?" Katana asked.

Maple didn't respond, but her eyes narrowed and she came at Katana again. She was a bit faster that time, Katana had to admit, but she was still remarkably slow. Too slow, in fact. She wasn't fighting the way she should.

Katana had seen enough battles to know how strong an opponent really was. The girl in front of her should at least be able to see her movements. There was potential in her, but it wouldn't be easy to train her if she didn't get rid of the barriers holding her in place.

Katana sent the girl sprawling with little effort, again.

"We could do this all day, but it won't mean anything until you fight me all out," shaking her head, Katana stared down at the pitiful sight for a few seconds. Talking seemed to be helping, so she tried again, "so, tell me. How long have you been a human Pokémon?"

"Two weeks," Maple said.

"Two weeks…you're nothing but a baby…" Katana smirked as another piece of this girl's puzzle clicked into place, "Why do you want to fight?"

"Because it's what I am," Maple declared, wiping the dirt off of her cheek.

"Not right now, it's not," Katana said, "I've seen this before. You're having trouble deciding exactly what you are. Are you a human? Or are you a monster?"

"A 'monster'?" Maple didn't like the word.

"Yes, a monster," Katana nodded, "you feel that, don't you? That _need_ inside of you. You evolved because you want to be human. We all did. For whatever reason we wanted to be human and we were strong enough to make it a reality. But that need remains. Humans push it away, try to lock it up and control it. But that's not what we are. It's not what _you_ are. You're not a human."

_What the hell are you? _Maple closed her eyes. What was the answer to that question? She didn't have one when he asked it. In truth, she still didn't have one. But she needed an answer. As much as it hurt to look for one, she _had_ to have an answer.

Was she human? If she was, she should be able to put all of the fighting behind her. She could just stop and not do it ever again. She could just be with Mark and never worry about Pokémon battles ever again. They could just run away together and everything could be wonderful.

But that was wrong. Mark had pushed her away and now she was here. But why was she here? She hadn't hesitated at the opportunity to train with Aurum, but why was that? And what was it that was holding her back?

Katana was right. The human part of her, the part that loved Mark, didn't want her here. It wanted her back with him, to listen to him and just forget about fighting. But there was another part, the part that needed to fight, to feel her blood coursing through her. She needed that just as much as she needed Mark. And now she could let it out.

Yes, she could let it out. Here she didn't have to worry about what Mark thought. She could be as wild as she wanted. And she did want to be wild. It had been gnawing at her ever since she had evolved. So much extra power and she hadn't even begun to test its limits. Finally, here was that chance! Right in front of her was the most powerful opponent she could ask for. And she was ready.

After a moment, Maple's eyes opened and a faint smile spread across her face. She took a few deep breaths. Liberated, she looked around the clearing in the Kieru Forest again, somehow seeing new life in all of it.

"So, what are you?" Katana smiled at her. _One barrier down_.

"I'm a monster," Maple hissed. She sprang at Katana and her vision went red.

* * *

><p>After Maple had left, Mark sat dumbfounded in their hotel room. His brain wasn't working, time just drifted by as he tried to grasp a hold of what had happened.<p>

What had he done? Maple was gone and it was his fault. She was gone, utterly and totally gone. How could he have let that happen?

At last, his legs listened to him and he stood up. A few blood-soaked towels remained in the bathroom, sitting on the floor. He left them there, wandering out into the hallway in a stupor. His mind refused to work and he started to aimlessly drift around the hotel. He would've continued for much longer had a familiar voice not called out to him.

"Hey, what's going on?" Lionel's unfailingly smiling face trotted up to Mark, parting the haze created by Maple's departure.

"Oh, it's you," Mark muttered. Then, after a second, he remembered something, "_you_!"

"Yeah, it's me," Lionel replied, "where's Maple?"

"Gone," Mark fumed, "thanks to _you_."

"Me? What did I do?" Lionel grinned despite his offended tone.

"_What did you do_?" Mark gritted his teeth at Lionel, "What _didn't_ you do? You told everybody on the island that I'm the only one in the tournament with one human Pokémon! People came out of nowhere to fight us!"

"Yeah, so?" Lionel asked, "I thought it'd help toughen you guys up. You need to train, after all."

"You're not helping!" Mark yelled, "Maple is gone because some asshole fought us!"

"Wait, wait, slow down," Lionel put up his hands, suddenly becoming serious for the first time since coming to the island, "Maple's gone? What happened? Calm down, start over, and tell me everything."

Mark shrugged and fought with himself to calm down. For a few seconds, all he could think was, _Maple is gone. She left. She just got up and left._ Over and over his head repeated the terrible words. He had failed her.

"We had a fight," Mark closed his eyes, trying to will away the worst pain he had ever felt, "God, it's all my fault. Why the hell did I say that crap to her?"

"Hey, take it easy," Lionel reassured him, "it'll be okay. Just tell me what happened to Maple."

"Okay," Mark took a deep breath and started again, "like I said, we had a fight. She fought some guy with a human Blastoise. Beat him in one hit. Kinda cool, actually. But there was just so much blood, everywhere. She was covered in the stuff. And you know something?" He paused to read Lionel's expression, but the blond-haired boy indicated that he didn't know anything. "She didn't care. That's the part that freaks me out. I've never seen a girl like her, well, any girl really, not freak out around blood!"

"Wait," Lionel was lost immediately, "that's a bad thing?"

"Well, no, I guess," Mark shook his head. Was that what bothered him about it? He had to think back. No, that wasn't right. Maple reacted to it, alright. He remembered seeing something in her eyes. Then, he realized it. She had enjoyed it. That was what disturbed Mark so much. There was a part of the sweet, lovely, innocent Maple that enjoyed spilling blood.

It was something that wanted to take her over. He had seen it in a brief instant. Maple had turned, her smiling face, her long, light blond hair with the stubborn green tuft, turning to face him. And in that brief moment, he remembered seeing that strange light in her eyes that was never there before. It was a look of bloodlust.

"Hey, you okay?" Lionel's voice brought Mark back from the memory.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Mark said, rubbing his temples.

"Okay, so, you freaked out over the blood and had a fight," Lionel summed up the story, "That's not that bad. Could be worse, anyway. Any idea where she went?"

"No," Mark shook his head, "unless…unless she went to go train with Aurum."

"Aurum?" Lionel drew back in shock, "the Golden Trainer? You know him?"

"He was on the boat with us," Mark explained, "he agreed to train me and Maple for the tournament."

"Oh, sweet, good call," Lionel complimented Mark.

"It doesn't matter," Mark hung his head, "I have to drop out of the tournament."

"_What_?" Lionel's jaw dropped open in disbelief, "no frickin' way! You guys had one fight and you're just gonna give up? _What the hell_?"

"I can't let her turn into a monster," Mark whispered.

"Too late for that, man," Lionel shook his head.

"Huh?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"She was a monster first," Lionel pointed out, "she turned into a girl. You can't keep her from becoming what she already is."

Mark furrowed his brow and shut his eyes in concentration. He tried to think, but all he could see were memories of Maple. He saw her crouching in front of him, right after she had evolved. He saw her sleeping peacefully with her tail tucked behind her legs. And he saw her covered in blood, with tears in her eyes as she left him alone.

"Dammit!" He cursed. There was still so much to sort out and he couldn't think…

"Well, whatever," Lionel said, "let's just find her. Then you two can sort this whole thing out and go back to being the cute, little, inseparable couple that you used to be." Turning on his heel, Lionel led the way out of the hotel. Still in a daze, Mark followed after him.

* * *

><p>AN: and now Maple's dark side comes back.<p>

i really enjoy writing her character. there's a lot of sides to her which makes her very fun and interesting to write for.

so...yeah, nothing super special to talk about this week. cya next time!


	22. Much to Learn

Chapter 21

Maple stopped sensing anything but the opponent in front of her. She didn't think, but simply lunged at Katana, slashing wildly.

She wanted nothing more than to land one hit. Just one hit and sweet, precious blood would spill out of Katana's body. Yes, that beautiful red liquid would flow out of her. If Maple could just cut into her lovely skin it would be ecstasy. Even a small cut, just to feel the blood on the tip of her tail, would be heaven.

Just one cut…

Suddenly, Maple cried out in pain as Katana slashed up her middle, a dark trail of shadow marking the place where the Night Slash had hit her. However, Katana had held back and the attack only caused a small spot of blood to appear where Katana had nicked Maple at the base of her neck. Maple landed on the ground, again, groaning in pain.

"O-kay," Katana inhaled and exhaled slowly, "that's progress."

Maple tentatively touched the small wound on her neck. Hot and wet, her own blood felt foreign on her finger. It wasn't hers. It couldn't be hers. But it was.

Then Maple realized that she was herself, again. She remembered saying that she was a monster, but after that…

"H-How long was I like that?" Maple was horrified at what she had let happen to her.

"Four minutes," Katana said evenly, "I had hoped that you'd get control of it, but it's still too early." She shrugged, "I pushed my own luck a little, too. Anyway, you'll be fine."

Four minutes. Maple didn't remember any of it. There was only the lingering sensation of the bloodlust through her entire body.

She could remember that with perfect clarity. The raw, wild desire to inflict pain on Katana, to draw blood, still pulsed through Maple's veins. Her body trembled with the force of it.

"What happened?" Aurum came up to meet the two human Pokémon. There was a slight tremor of concern in his voice.

"I made her go Red," Katana explained, "I thought I could still dodge her, but she got a little too quick. I had no choice but to cut her short."

"Go Red?" Maple's voice shook as the words came out.

"That's what we call it when you discard your humanity and reason," Katana explained, "It's a side-effect of being a human and a Pokémon at the same time. Trained Pokémon can't fight without a trainer. But we can because the human side of us can fill in for the trainer's role. The problem is, sometimes under certain stressors, it's possible for us to lose our humanity entirely and just become a mindless beast. That's what we call going Red."

"A mindless beast…" Maple said absently.

"Yes," Katana nodded, "you won't remember anything except for that pure desire to attack. You have to attack, hurt and kill until your enemy is gone."

"But," Maple looked into Katana's eyes with desperation, "you stopped it!"

"By doing enough damage to make you bleed," Katana shrugged, "you didn't even feel the first one."

"Wow…" Maple looked at the blood on the tips of her fingers, again.

"Drink this," Aurum offered Maple a small, plastic bottle containing a strange, bright blue liquid.

"What is it?" Maple asked, turning the bottle sideways to peer at it.

"It's a Hyper Potion," Aurum reassured her, "formulated for human Pokémon. Drink it and your wound will go away."

Maple unscrewed the cap and sniffed at the strange liquid. It had a slightly sweet smell to it, but the taste was horribly bitter. She managed to choke it down, but she sorely missed the soda Mark had given her.

At the thought of Mark, Maple felt her heart grow a little heavier.

As Aurum had promised, the wound on Maple's neck closed up within a few more seconds. Only a small spot of blood still marked where the wound had been.

"So that's step one," Katana said.

"Step one?" Maple asked as she felt for the non-existent cut.

"You went Red, that's important for getting over those pesky human blocks and making you fight your hardest," Katana explained, "but now you have to take control of it."

"I can take control of it?" Maple was so excited by the idea that, at first, she didn't even believe it was possible.

"Yes," Katana nodded, "it will be harder than going Red, but once you can do it, you'll be capable of a lot more."

"Is that how you beat those two from before?" Maple asked.

"Yes," Katana nodded, again, "I've used it enough that I barely notice its effects. It's risky to use, but it's the quickest way to give you a boost in power and speed."

"Okay!" Maple sprang to her feet, "what do I do?"

"You'll need to go Red," Katana admitted, and Maple's ears immediately drooped down after she said it, "the only way to gain control of it is to call it on, become aware of what's happening, and then force yourself back out of it."

"But…you said…" Maple shook her head. She never wanted to go Red again, but now Katana was telling her that she had to.

"Never mind what I said," Katana snapped, "if you can do this, then you'll be a lot farther on your way to being as strong as us than anyone else in this whole tournament."

"Really?" Maple saw some hope in that, but, "but I'm scared!" She shut her eyes and stalked away from Katana and Aurum. After a few steps she stopped, her mind once again torn by the conflict of greater strength and the price she might have to pay to achieve it.

"Good," Aurum declared, "you should be."

Maple turned back to face him.

"Use it," the Golden trainer told her, "the fear of it will help keep you in check and draw you back out of it. It's useless to be just a mindless monster with no direction. The gift of a human heart and mind can make you into something greater than what you ever were before."

Maple smiled after he said those words. He had told her exactly what she needed to hear. She wasn't a monster and she wasn't a girl. She was both. Aurum was not only telling her that she could, but that it was to her _advantage_ to be both.

A strange thought crossed Maple's mind, then. All this time, Katana had been training Maple, but now she knew why Katana called Aurum 'Master.'

"Okay," Maple nodded, "I'll do it." A small smile appeared at the corner of Katana's lips.

"Master," she began, an idea occurring to her, "shouldn't we have some reinforcements for training this girl?"

"I suppose," Aurum growled, "Billow can help." Aurum extended his arm and dropped a Pokéball on the ground. After a quick flash of light, a small, human Drifblim stood before Maple.

The girl was considerably shorter than Maple and was probably at least a year or two younger than her. A cloud of white hair flowed down around her shoulders. Her knee-length dress was a light shade of purple that grew even lighter around the skirt. Red and yellow frills decorated the edges of her collar and sleeves. Her large eyes were spaced far apart and the irises were a bright red.

The girl looked around timidly, blinking slowly. Her eyes came to rest on Maple, the only one in the area that she didn't know.

"Hello," Maple chimed.

The girl made a small squeaking noise before pattering away behind Aurum, peeking out at irregular intervals to glance at Maple.

"Billow," Aurum said sternly, "we don't have time for you to be shy. This girl needs your help."

"R-really?" Billow squeaked.

"Yes, really," Aurum tossed his head from side to side, "a little bit of fighting won't hurt."

"Are you sure?" Billow sounded doubtful.

"Positive," Aurum shrugged, "just do it, or I'll try to teach you how to fish, again."

"I'll be good!" Willow declared before trotting out to greet Maple. She didn't so much walk as she seemed to float. The tiny Drifblim-girl grasped Maple's hand and shook it with both of her own.

"Nice to meet you!" she giggled, "I may not look like it, but I'm stronger than Katana!"

"You wish!" Katana spat.

"Yes, I am!" Billow insisted, "Here, I'll prove it. Go Red and I'll stop you."

"Huh?" Maple hesitated at the idea of attacking a little girl by going Red and was simultaneously confused by the abrupt change in Billow's demeanor.

"I'll be fine, I promise," Billow said playfully.

Not knowing what else to do, Maple shrugged and concentrated on her tiny opponent. The change did not come easily, but having done it once, Maple already knew what to look for. She closed her eyes and concentrated. About thirty seconds later, they shot open and Maple went Red.

"MEEP!" Billow squeaked in fear, as Maple lunged at her.

"Idiot," Katana muttered, "I should just do it myself."

But she knew that she wouldn't be able to. They were already short on time. The girl might be able to control the Red state in two days, but that was without rest, which they all needed. Trading off with Billow would be the only way to maximize the time they could go without needing that rest.

But there was more to it than just time. Maple had come very close to seriously hurting Katana earlier. That meant that once she could control the Red state, she'd be able to keep pace with Katana, probably even hit her. So much power and she had been a human Pokémon for barely two weeks. With the right training, this Leafeon-girl just might be a match for Katana. Maybe even surpass her.

Katana couldn't help but grin as she watched Billow float just outside of their apprentice's reach.

* * *

><p>"So, uhh…where are they training, exactly?" Lionel asked, trying to keep his voice casual and positive. Mark was taking this whole thing pretty hard. Never mind the misunderstanding and abandonment, Mark was obviously way more attached to Maple than what Lionel would've guessed.<p>

"Hey, wake up in there." He snapped his fingers in front of Mark's face and that seemed to do the trick.

"Huh?"

"You've been a zombie for the past ten minutes," Lionel said, "We'll get her back, I promise. Just stop moping."

"I'm sorry," Mark sighed. He took a moment to look around, "where are we?"

"Outside."

"I can see that," Mark snapped, "_where_ outside?"

"Outside of the Pokémon Center," Lionel jerked his head to his left, "man, you are seriously out of it."

"Why'd you bring me here?" Mark peered at the now familiar building.

"Thought you'd need a little reminder," Lionel explained, "you see, human Pokémon are very different from normal Pokémon…"

"I know that!" Mark yelled, "I may be new, but I'm not stupid!"

"Alright, alright, just trying to help," Lionel held up his hands, in defense. What the hell was he doing? Things were going out of control so quickly…

Just then, Mark saw a familiar trio emerge through the entrance to the Pokémon Center. Eric walked through, flanked on each side by Tsunami and Fernelia.

"Man, I hate hospitals," Eric was practically shuddering, but he brushed it aside by clapping his hands together, excitedly, "anyways, three more days until our match. We gotta get ready. Oh, 'sup?" He stopped upon seeing Mark.

"Hi," Mark greeted, "so…what're you guys doing here?"

"Gettin' Tsunami patched up," Eric gestured behind him, "He had a good fight with a human Scyther earlier." Tsunami grinned and cracked his knuckles, "how 'bout you?"

"Umm…" Mark wasn't sure if he had a definitive answer to that.

"Wait," Tsunami spoke up, "you had a human Leafeon with you on the boat, didn't you?"

Mark snapped to attention, "yeah, why? Have you seen her?" Tsunami and Fernelia exchanged worried glances and Eric stared down at his feet.

"We…saw her running towards the forest," Fernelia spoke a little louder than a whisper.

"Oh…" Mark lowered his gaze. He knew what that meant. It just confirmed what he already knew. Maple had left to go train with Aurum.

"Everything alright?" Tsunami took a step forward, concern etched in his face.

"Of course everything's alright," Lionel came up behind Mark, grinning widely.

"Right…" Tsunami backed away, his concern replaced with suspicion. But after a second, he turned back to Mark, "hey, if you need anything, we're in room 1502. Don't be afraid to drop by."

"Thanks…" Mark said half-heartedly, "nice seeing you, again."

"You too," Tsunami nodded and Eric led their group away from the Pokémon Center.

Mark watched them go. He wanted to tell them what had happened, but he decided that it was his problem. He would have to deal with it. Maple was his human Pokémon and he had sworn that he wouldn't abandon her.

"Lionel," Mark said, straightening as he watched Eric, Tsunami and Fernelia disappear, "you don't have to come with me, anymore. Maple's in the forest, training with Aurum. I'm going after her."

"Kieru forest? Aww…crap," Lionel let out a frustrated sigh, "No, you're not."

"Why not?" Mark turned and glared at Lionel.

"You won't find her," it was a statement of plain fact, "you'll just get lost and wind up at the entrance again. It happens to everybody. Those woods are just plain weird. People have tried, but you can't follow anybody into those woods. That's just how it works. Its other name is Palkia's Woods. Because things like space and distance don't mean anything in there."

Mark was dumbfounded by the explanation. Woods like that only existed in fairy tales. Nothing could do that. He couldn't even think of a Pokémon that had that kind of capability. He had heard of Palkia, the Pokémon that was said to control space, but for the woods to be corrupted with that kind of power…what did that mean?

"So, does Palkia live in there?" Mark asked, honestly half-excited at the idea of such a powerful Pokémon being so close.

"If it does, nobody's ever seen it," Lionel guessed, "all I know is what people tell me."

Lionel's conviction about the whole thing was very strange. He didn't talk about it like it was a story. He talked about it as if he had tried before and seen it himself. It wasn't a legend or a story, it was cold, hard fact.

"Magic, huh?" Mark asked, his hopes sinking.

"Guess so," Lionel quickly replaced his somber expression with his normal grin, "at least we have a plan, though. We'll wait until tomorrow and meet them at the border. That should do it. Then you'll be back with your sweet little Leafeon-girlfriend." He turned on his heel and began walking away.

Mark didn't realize what Lionel said until it was far too late to dispute it. On the other hand, it certainly sounded like an interesting concept. He wondered about that as he followed Lionel.

* * *

><p>AN: originally i wasn't sure if i liked the mechanic of the Red State. though as i think more about what i'm going to do with it, it's definitely a keeper. it's a bit cliched in that it's a lot like a standard anime power boost. big jump in power, if you can control it, but every now and then the user loses it and flips out. expect more of the same with Maple.<p>

thanks for reading!


	23. Hooh's Emissary

Chapter 22

The afternoon began to drag for Katana. The progress that Maple had made had ground to a halt. She had gone Red dozens of times and each time ended in failure. Lengthening the time didn't help either. Ten minutes here, eight minutes there, fifteen minutes there, but no matter how long she was in it she just couldn't take control of it. Katana was getting tired of being chased around by a monster that wanted nothing more than to rip her throat out.

It was Billow's turn, now. Her Drifblim abilities as a ghost/flying type helped a considerable amount against Maple's exclusive use of Leaf Blade. Despite her small size, Billow could take quite a good deal of punishment, which was a necessary feature since she couldn't dodge the way Katana could. Katana was quick and agile, but she couldn't take much damage. Billow was practically the opposite. It made them a good team, whether they chose to admit it or not.

"Just end it," Katana sighed, shaking her head. Maple had been Red for twenty minutes, the longest time span yet, and it hadn't made a bit of difference. She was furiously slashing at Billow as she floated in the air, just out of her reach.

Billow nodded, before closing her eyes. She held her hands about six-inches apart, in front of her chest. Concentrating, streams of black light flowed down her arms and through her hands. A sphere of dark energy began to form between her hands, as if a shadow had suddenly decided to gather into a three dimensional object.

Curling her hands around the back of the Shadow Ball, Billow pushed forward, launching it at Maple. It slammed into her chest, knocking her off of her feet. Not for the first time that day, Maple tasted blood in her mouth as the rush of the Red state faded and the world came back into proper focus.

"This isn't working," Katana walked forward, "you're not getting anywhere." She offered another Hyper Potion to Maple, who drank it without hesitation. She had had so many potions that day that the bitter taste was barely noticeable, anymore.

"What am I doing wrong?" Maple asked, staring at the ground.

"Oddly, nothing," Katana admitted, "it's just something that has to come to you. Nobody can really tell you how to do it."

"Oh…" Maple sighed and began staring at the ground. She had lost two hours of the day. They were simply gone like a puff of smoke. She couldn't remember anything, no matter how hard she tried. How could she control something that dominated her like that?

"You need your trainer," Aurum materialized behind them.

"I do?" Maple didn't know whether that was good or bad. Controlling the Red state might be easier if she knew that Mark was there to support her. But, if she could control it without him, then she could go back to him without worrying about it. He would never have to see what she turned into.

"Yes," Aurum answered, "that's what your trainer is for, after all. Support, if nothing else. Katana and Billow are both stronger when I'm looking after them. A strong trainer can guide even the weakest Pokémon to victory. It's a matter of strength of will combining with your bond between each other that grants Pokémon, human Pokémon and their trainers greater strength."

Maple smiled. Once again, he had told her exactly what she wanted and needed to hear. The normally bitter old man had a soft spot that showed what made him into the Golden Trainer.

"So, what do we do?" Katana asked.

"Keep trying," Aurum shrugged, "if the bond between trainer and human Pokémon is as strong as it needs to be, he'll find us here."

Maple stared at Aurum with hope welling up in her eyes. She hadn't realized how much she wanted it to be true until he had said it.

Mark would come back. He would come looking for them. He would come looking for Maple. Without question, she knew it to be true. He had to…

* * *

><p>Mark stood at the border between the forest and the city, in almost the exact same location that Maple had lied down to cry, just a few hours earlier.<p>

It had taken longer than expected to ditch Lionel. The blond boy refused to leave Mark's side, which puzzled him more than anything. Finally, Lionel had left for the restroom and Mark seized the opportunity to disappear. No matter what Lionel said about the forest, he had to try. He wouldn't give up until he had seen it himself.

The forest looked normal enough. The thick trees were evenly spaced and the underbrush filled in any areas that weren't well traveled. Small animals and Pokémon alike scuttled through the area from time to time, searching for food. It looked normal, but that didn't help.

Mark had tried half a dozen times to navigate the strange forest. But, it was just as Lionel had said. No matter where he turned or even if he kept going straight, the forest just directed him back to the entrance again. How could it possibly do that?

Still, Mark wasn't going to give up. Aurum had said that they would train here. That meant that the old man had come here many times before. There had to be a trick to it. What was missing?

"Eclipse," Mark called out his Umbreon and Maple's older brother. Eclipse appeared on the ground before him, sitting back, his red eyes alert and ready. "See if you can pick up Maple's scent."

It occurred to Mark that Maple's scent could be different than what Eclipse could remember, but it didn't seem to matter, because the Umbreon easily picked up her trail and started off through the woods. Mark followed closely after him, watching the path. Eclipse took his time, sweeping the ground and occasionally backtracking to be sure that something hadn't gone wrong. Even still…

"Dammit," Mark swore, recognizing the same set of trees that he had passed by seven times, now. Even Eclipse's diligent tracking of his sister's scent didn't make a difference.

Mark recalled Eclipse and closed his eyes to think. It was a forest that could make people lost. But it did it in order to protect what was inside. He couldn't find Maple because he was specifically searching for her. That would explain why Aurum came here and even how he could stay. The old man wanted a place out of the way where no one could disturb him. The forest delivered without hesitation.

Was it refusing Mark because he was going to disrupt that isolation? At this point, anything seemed possible. Mark did not have bad intentions; at least he didn't think so. Whatever was going on, it was very unforgiving.

Exhausted, Mark sat on the ground, trying to will the forest into divulging its secrets. The wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves. All around him, the forest squeaked and chattered. Birds chirped in the distance, reminding him of Maple's sweet, musical voice.

It had been a long time since he had sat down and enjoyed the outdoors. Even as he sat there, his mind rattled away with worry over Maple. Was she safe? Would she still be angry at him? What could he say to apologize?

He lied back and stared upward, through the canopy above his head. Warm sunlight filtered through, even as the sun was already well into its descent. It would be evening in just another hour or two. There was so little time. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had to find Maple before the sun set. It was strange, but it was a feeling he couldn't shake.

Suddenly, a strange blue light began to mingle with the sunlight. Mark sat up and looked behind him and his mouth dropped open in shock. Facing him from just a few meters away, its body radiating with that strange light, stood a Suicune.

The majestic creature stayed where it was, cautiously eyeing Mark. It was waiting to see what he would do. Slowly, Mark eased himself up off of the ground. He didn't know why, but he was suddenly convinced that this Pokémon watched over Palkia's Woods.

But, Suicune? Here? That couldn't possibly be right. Suicune was one-of-a-kind. Every trainer who had ever seen it, which were rare to begin with, had only seen it running around either Johto or Kanto. It was one of the three that were the eyes and ears of Ho-oh. For it to be so far away from home…what did that mean?

Unsure of what to do next, he watched the Suicune. It was a magnificent experience just to be able to see the creature. Mark had only ever seen pictures; the real thing was much more impressive.

If Mark were another trainer, he would've tried to catch it. Once, he had been. But every thought that he ever had about catching it left his mind for good once he had seen the real thing. Something like this didn't belong in a Pokéball.

As if it were reading his mind, Suicune decided that the trainer before it had passed the test. It started to pad towards him. As it did so, something strange started to happen.

Suicune's body began to glow white. As it stepped forward, it reared back to stand up on its hind legs to reach an impressive height. But it was only like that for a moment, as its body began to shrink in height. Its shoulders broadened slightly and its forearms swung to its side and began to change. Its paws were replaced with hands and long, delicate fingers. Its face flattened and became human shaped. At the end of the transformation, Mark was looking at the human form of Suicune.

Mark had a hard time deciding whether or not it was a woman or a man. The features were vaguely feminine, but that didn't feel quite right. The person in front of him was several inches taller than him and was thin and pale. The billowing cloud that had been on its back had become a stream of purple hair that blew gently, even though there was no breeze. The light-blue, hexagon-shaped crest remained on the figure's forehead like a headpiece. The figure was clothed in a light-blue gown that could've been a dress or a cloak, it was hard to tell.

"Mark Diamond?" the figure spoke, its voice was also largely feminine, but Mark remained unconvinced that it was a woman.

"Y-yes," Mark nodded. He thought he had just witnessed Suicune's evolution into a human Pokémon, but if that were true it shouldn't be able to talk yet. Was this something that Suicune could do on its own? Mark had never heard anything like that before.

"You're looking for Maple?" Suicune strode forward, its feet were bare and it took long, careful strides.

"Yes," Mark nodded, again, more collected this time.

"I commend you for not attempting to capture me," Suicune smiled as it complimented Mark, "you may come and go out of Palkia's Woods as you please, now."

"Oh," Mark's eyes went wide. Was that it? Was it really that easy?

"I know that you have questions," Suicune's voice had a naturally calming quality to it, Mark wouldn't be able to fight it even if he wanted to anymore, "if you will kindly follow me, I will provide you with some of the answers you seek. But, be warned, not all questions have an answer that you are ready to hear."

"I understand," Mark nodded, "…are you going to take me to Maple?"

"Yes," Suicune confirmed, "she misses you and your bond is strong. Ho-oh honors that."

"Ho-oh?"

"Yes," Suicune smiled again, "come. There is much we need to discuss." With that, Suicune turned and began walking deeper into Palkia's Woods. Mark followed after her, or him, or whatever it was.

He was too stunned by the rapid developments to ask anything for the first few minutes. It was Suicune that urged him to begin.

"What is it you would ask of me, Mark Diamond?"

"Umm…" Mark's mind whirled. What didn't he want to ask? He decided to start small, "you can turn into a human?"

"Yes," Suicune answered, "but it is not the permanent transformation that you know of. I am still wholly, what you call, a Pokémon. I chose this form to ease our own ability to communicate. It is a power granted to me by Ho-oh. I cannot perform the task under my own power."

"So, that means the legends are true," Mark deduced, "you're a servant of Ho-oh."

"You speak the truth," Suicune confirmed, "Along with my siblings, I was created by Ho-oh to observe mankind's progress and watch its development. In particular, we are to watch mankind's relationship with Pokémon."

"I see…"

"That is why I am on this island. Human Pokémon are of a great deal of interest to Ho-oh. There has always been a line that separated Pokémon from mankind, as well as other animals. Human Pokémon defy that characterization and sit directly in the center of that line. In a way, Ho-oh is more interested in human Pokémon than in most normal humans."

"So, you must know how human Pokémon came to be," Mark chose his questions carefully. He wasn't sure how much Suicune would answer. It was offering to explain a lot, but it had already warned him about asking the wrong questions. What did it know that it didn't want to tell him?

"Yes, I do," Suicune paused, as if considering what the consequences would be in revealing this piece of information, "I am aware that you have already heard one version of the truth. Allow me to enlighten you."

One version of the truth? It must have been talking about the legend that Jeremiah had told him. It would be no surprise if there was more than one legend, but what did it mean by more than one truth? The truth meant just one answer, right?

"The legend that you know of speaks of a falling star," Suicune began to explain and Mark had no more time to wonder, "I hear that it is a common theme in many human tales. This is how the original truth began to change. What your legend refers to as a fallen star was, in fact, the Pokémon Jirachi."

"Jirachi?"

"Yes," Suicune continued, "Jirachi is…young. It is very young and very powerful. Its age reflects that of the universe. Thus, despite its incredible age, it is no more mature than a toddler. As such, Jirachi is…prone to make rash, childish decisions. Anyone who wishes upon Jirachi will have their wish granted, to the best of Jirachi's unlimited potential."

It was a long time before Mark could speak.

"That's…incredible," Mark shook his head, "I've heard of Jirachi, but…it created human Pokémon? I didn't know it had that kind of power."

"It does," Suicune confirmed, "and more. "Jirachi is equal parts chaos and innocence. It both can and will do anything it wants. It didn't transform just one Pokémon. It opened a door to allow all Pokémon, should they truly desire it, the chance to become human."

"Wow…" Mark whispered, "But…wait, I thought the Pikachu in the legend wanted to be a full girl. If Jirachi is so powerful, why didn't it finish the job?"

"Because that is not what the girl truly desired," Suicune shook its head, "you've seen it yourself. Human Pokémon don't wish to fully abandon what they are. As a result, they become stuck in the middle; caught at a meaningless way station, unable to go forward or backward. They are outcasts to both sides."

"It sounds like you don't like Jirachi or human Pokémon…" Mark observed.

"As an emissary of Ho-oh," Suicune spoke as if reciting a pact that it had foresworn long ago, "I support and follow what Ho-oh believes. Ho-oh remains neutral and observes Jirachi and all human Pokémon with equality and fairness."

Mark very seriously doubted how neutral Ho-oh was. If Ho-oh truly was neutral, then why did Suicune interfere at all? What was it doing telling Mark all of these strange, wild things? Should he even believe it? What did it have to gain by telling him all of this?

But they were out of time.

"We have arrived," Suicune announced when the trees began to thin. Mark could hear the sounds of fighting. Maple was training with Aurum just beyond those last few trees.

"Why did you tell me all of this?" Mark asked his final and most important question.

"I told you before," Suicune shook its head and brushed aside the question, "there are some answers that you're not yet ready to hear."

Once again, Mark very seriously doubted that that was the truth.

"Farewell, Mark Diamond," Suicune turned and began to transform back into its four-legged form, "we will meet again." Its transformation finished, the Pokémon bounded away through Palkia's Woods, leaving Mark alone to consider what it had said.

* * *

><p>AN: didn't really explain Palkia's Woods very much, but revealed a lot of other stuff. I wasn't sure if this was where I wanted to do it, but otherwise Suicune's appearance is random and pointless.<p>

I think it's better than what was here originally, at least

Anyway, thanks for reading!


	24. In Your Arms, I Can Cry Again

Chapter 23

Even with the sounds of fighting drifting through the woods, behind him, it was a long time before Mark could move from where he was standing.

First, he considered everything that Suicune had told him. What had he learned?

Jirachi was the creator of the human Pokemon around him. Apparently the legend of the Pikachu girl, or whatever it had been, was a glorified version of a visit from Jirachi. It transformed her on a whim and then left her alone. What did Suicune say? Jirachi was equal parts chaos and innocence.

Suicune clearly didn't like it. But what was Suicune? Ho-oh had sent it here to observe the human Pokemon. To what end? What did it want?

He had left with more questions than answers. The worst of it was that Suicune refused to tell him everything. The most important question he could think of was left unanswered. Now it was starting to feel as though Suicune had appeared simply to taunt him.

But there was nothing he could do about it. Suicune was far too powerful for him to chase after and demand answers. But Mark realized that wouldn't be necessary. It had given him the chance to roam free through Palkia's Woods and entrusted him with a very important secret of the Pokemon world. It obviously trusted him. He should return that trust, right?

Mark supposed he had no choice but to trust Suicune. Whatever was going on, it knew a lot more than he did. He had no reason to distrust it, nor Ho-oh, for that matter.

Whatever was going on, he couldn't help. Instead, he should be focusing on his own problems. What was he going to say to Maple?

She had run off, on her own, to train with Aurum. Well, Mark could hear fighting. That meant Aurum really was training her. If she was training, she was getting hurt and that was exactly what Mark had been trying to prevent. Like Aurum had told him, he couldn't protect Maple from everything.

Of course, maybe he didn't have to. It wasn't a trainer's job to keep their Pokemon from getting hurt. If that were the case, Pokemon battles wouldn't happen at all. What a trainer really did was help their Pokemon become stronger.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Mark had never been sure how he felt about that old saying. It seemed true enough, but was that the only way? If he was the one responsible for Maple getting hurt, could he really just throw her into a battle?

He still didn't want to. That hadn't changed. Maple running away from him didn't stop the fact that he didn't want to purposefully put her in harm's way.

But he was being selfish and over-protective when he thought something like that. Maple wanted it, after all. If he stopped her, he wasn't protecting anybody but himself. She would do it anyway, and she would run away to do it.

Wouldn't it be better if he was by her side? He could watch over her and protect her. Pushing her away wasn't the answer. If she was going to get hurt, the least he could do was stay near her. Even if it hurt to see her get hurt, it would be better if he saw it, rather than wonder about it from a distance.

If she was going to get hurt, he wanted to be there to pick her back up again.

He began to walk forward, through the trees.

* * *

><p>Maple ached all over as she stood up and downed yet another potion. They had tried three more times, but it was just too hard. Whatever needed to happen, she couldn't do it by herself. She was beaten and battered. Her dress, once just stained with blood, was now covered in dirt and riddled with small tears in random places. She had been out here for hours, but nothing had changed. She missed Mark so much that she could cry.<p>

But she didn't. She wouldn't let herself, anymore. If he was looking for her, then she couldn't give up either. Even if she couldn't control the Red state, all of the fighting against Katana and Billow had to be worth something. She couldn't stop trying now or it really would all be for nothing.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Katana look up at something off in the distance.

Maple followed her gaze and saw Mark standing at the edge of the woods.

She started running towards him, but she slowed down as she got closer. What if he had come all this way but still didn't want her to battle? She didn't want to choose between the two. She couldn't abandon what she was, but she couldn't leave Mark either.

There was a strange look on Mark's face. He appeared to be thinking very hard about something. He hadn't moved since Maple had started running towards him. Maple stopped just a few yards away from him. He wanted to say something.

"Hi," he began as he searched for words, "umm…it's…good to see you."

Maple smiled and nodded.

"I…wanted to say, I'm sorry," Mark hung his head, "I don't want to see you get hurt. But I also know that I can't protect you from everything."

It took all of Maple's willpower to stay where she was. She wanted to just run over and hug him and let everything go back to the way it was before. But he wasn't finished, so, she stayed where she was.

"I know that you're going to fight," Mark continued, "and I know you're going to get hurt. That's just who and what you are."

Mark began walking towards Maple, but he still couldn't look her in the eye. Was this the right thing to do? Would he be able to live with this decision? Why didn't he know?

"The thing is," Mark stopped an arm's length away from Maple, "if you're going to get hurt, then I want to know about it. I want to watch over you. I want to be there to make the pain go away."

With his gaze on the ground, Mark didn't know that Maple was on the verge of tears. He was only aware that she started to shuffle her feet, maybe out of nervousness, maybe not.

"So…" Maple swallowed, in an effort to keep her tears back, "does that mean…that you want me back?"

Mark didn't answer, at first. This whole time he had been thinking that Maple didn't want him back. But, at the same time, she had been afraid that he didn't want her back. They had both blamed themselves for what happened.

He smiled to himself and looked up into Maple's big, brown eyes. Then he saw the tears behind them and somehow he felt stronger. He suddenly wanted to make those tears go away forever.

"As long as you'll take me," he said.

Maple flung herself into his arms and cried against him. Mark felt his shirt start to get wet as she sobbed in short little sniffs.

"Hey," Mark tried to comfort her, "why are you crying?"

"I don't know," Maple sobbed, "I'm just…happy."

Mark sighed and held her tighter. He stroked her soft, beautiful hair, pushing her ears back as he did so. Breathing deeply, he drank in the sweet scent that filled the air around her.

That was a kind of crying that he could live with.

* * *

><p>"Well, that's just the cutest damned thing I've ever seen," Katana smirked, watching the reunion between the human boy and the Leafeon-girl.<p>

"Oooooh," Billow cooed, "that's so pretty!"

"Pretty?" Katana wasn't quite sure where Billow was getting that from, but it did make some sense.

After another minute or two, Mark and Maple released each other and they started approaching Katana and Billow, their hands interlocked.

Aurum once again left his fishing spot, empty handed, and moved to join them as Maple introduced Mark to Billow and Katana. The Golden Trainer watched them intently. Just as he predicted, the bond between the two was strong enough for the young man to find his way through Kieru Forest and reunite with his human Leafeon. Better still, that bond was growing stronger all the time.

"You're late," Aurum scolded Mark, "don't do it again."

Mark snapped to attention and stared at Aurum for a moment before responding, "y-yes, sir. It won't happen again."

"Good," Aurum nodded, not letting any of the anger leave his voice, "we've already lost most of the day. If you're going to be ready in time, we have to get started immediately."

"Right," Mark agreed. He briefly looked at Maple to confirm her feelings about training. He saw that there was no change, so he no longer hesitated, "what do we need to do?"

"First you're going to watch," Aurum explained, "you have some catching up to do." Aurum began to walk away, putting a suitable distance between himself and the human Pokémon.

Reluctantly, Mark released Maple's hand and went to go stand with Aurum. He didn't know what to expect, but something very serious and very dangerous was happening.

Once the two humans were ready and at a safe distance, Katana volunteered to be Maple's opponent. At first, the girl did nothing. She just fidgeted in place, glancing over at Mark every now and then.

"It's okay," Katana said as soothingly as she could manage, "he needs to see this."

Maple nodded. She didn't like it, but Katana was right. Once more, she closed her eyes in concentration and went Red.

Mark was stunned as he watched Maple let out a vicious snarl and lunge after Katana. It was like what he had seen before, but a thousand times worse. Maple attacked relentlessly and without hesitation, like a wild animal bent on killing everything around her. The change was so drastic and complete that Mark couldn't even be sure he was looking at the same girl anymore.

The minutes dragged on as Katana dodged attack after attack. She could keep ahead of Maple, but the girl was getting faster. Desperate, she slashed across Maple's midsection with a Night Slash, but no blood came forth and Maple continued attacking as if it had never happened. Katana barely dodged an attack that would've caught her throat.

Jumping backwards, Katana made an Ice Shard in her hand. She aimed and flung it into Maple's shoulder. This time, Maple snarled in pain as she groped for the icicle sticking into her. She pulled it out as blood began to ooze out of the wound. An instant later, she was herself, again and she sank to her knees.

"Holy…" Mark gaped, trying to grasp the meaning behind Aurum's training methods, "what the hell?" Without a word, Aurum approached Maple with another potion from his seemingly endless supply within his fishing gear.

Mark ran after him to inspect Maple. There was an inch wide circular wound just below her collarbone that was bleeding freely. She tried to smile at Mark, but it broke and she grimaced with pain. Aurum handed her another bottle of blue liquid and she drank the whole thing without stopping. After a few seconds, Mark could see the torn muscle and skin sew themselves back together and the wound closed right before his eyes. All that remained was a streak of blood, which Aurum wiped away with a cloth.

"That's what training with me is like," Aurum whispered as he backed away from Mark and his human Leafeon.

"Are you okay?" Mark ignored Aurum and knelt down with Maple.

"Yeah," Maple nodded, the pain all but gone, "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"No," Mark shook his head, "no, it's okay. If it's part of who you are. Don't be ashamed of it."

"Thank you," Maple smiled.

"It's called the Red state," Katana came up behind them, "it makes us very strong, but it turns us into true monsters. If she can control it, she'll become very powerful, very quickly."

Mark nodded and considered. Becoming very powerful, very quickly was what Maple needed. This Red state was exactly what he had seen in Maple's eyes earlier that day. He couldn't explain it, but he knew it was dangerous. There was something more at risk than what Katana and Aurum were telling him. But did they even know what that was? Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, but ultimately it didn't matter. If Maple really could control it, then what was there to fear?

"What do you need me to do?" Mark asked, helping Maple to her feet.

"Stay closer," Aurum answered, "fight alongside her and guide her like you normally would."

"What?" Maple stared at Aurum in disbelief. She had no intention of letting Mark get close enough for her to hurt him.

"Master, are you sure about that?" even Katana doubted Aurum's idea.

"I'm sure," Aurum nodded, "you've been trying all day, that's plenty of time for her to understand what the Red state is. All that's left is her trainer's influence. If it's not enough, then it never will be and we're done here."

Mark and Maple stared into each other's eyes. Just like that, Aurum had declared that if they failed, it would end there. If Mark stood with Maple, it might be enough for her to control the Red state. If not, she would probably never master it.

However, there was a lot of risk in that. It didn't matter to Mark if Maple hurt him, he wasn't afraid of that. He was more afraid for Maple. How would she react if she lost control and attacked him? It would damage her more than him.

And what did Aurum mean that she would never control it, if it didn't work? Could some human Pokémon unleash the Red state but never master it? There were still so many questions, but Mark only saw one path forward.

"I'll do it," he promised, never taking his eyes off of Maple's.

"Then get started," Aurum said, impatiently, "time is running out."

"Right," Mark nodded. He moved to stand just a short distance behind Maple as Billow stepped forward for her own turn.

"You'll do it this time, Miss Maple," Billow beamed, "I know you will!"

"Thank you," Maple took a deep breath. She looked back at Mark and he nodded for her to get started. She closed her eyes and felt for the Red state, knowing that Mark was right behind her and wasn't going anywhere.

Mark watched Maple dash forward and felt the very air around her change. The sweet, lovely Maple was gone again. Now she was just a beast, a barely conscious killer. He didn't think he'd ever get used to watching her do that. But now wasn't the time to think about things like that.

Maple's tail whipped and slashed at Billow, but the little Drifblim-girl was too quick and she floated back out of her reach. A moment later, she bounded off of the ground and floated a few feet above Maple's head. Snarling, the creature that looked like Maple cursed Billow and tried to reach her with no success.

Growing even angrier and frustrated, the creature sensed something else nearby. An easier target. She turned and looked at Mark, grinning madly. The red glint of bloodlust hung in her eyes and Mark went cold with fear.

_Maple…_

Then there was a shimmer. It shook through the creature and distorted it and then was gone. It was just a brief one, but for that instant the red glint dulled. The thing that looked like Maple shook its head, disturbed by the interruption and turned back to the helpless target just a few meters away.

She advanced towards him, eager for the kill. It would come quickly. It wouldn't be the frustrating, fruitless chase that she had suffered through all day. No, this time she would have it. She could practically taste the ecstasy to come.

"Maple!" Mark called out, "Maple! You can do this! I know you can!"

The shimmer came again, stronger this time. The thing retreated a few paces. There was something more to this one. Something even more dangerous than the other two. Another shimmer washed through her and she sank to her knees.

"Maple," Mark rushed forward, heedless of his own safety. If she was going to kill him, then so be it. He just couldn't stand watching her like this anymore.

He knelt down in front of her. She was shuddering as the shimmers came quicker and quicker. More and more, the monster that had taken her over was fading and the girl within was taking control.

Maple suddenly realized where she was and what she was doing. She could feel her blood pulsing through her. Every sense was heightened to a degree that dwarfed even her previous abilities. The world around her shone with incredible detail. She knew immediately that she had mastered the Red state.

As she knelt on the ground, she could hear her own heart beating, but right next to her, there was a second. She looked up and watched as a smile spread across Mark's face. After a few more seconds, she smiled back.

* * *

><p>AN: EXTREME HAPPINESS CHAPTER!<p>

oddly enough, i think being apart strengthened their relationship more than being together would've. weird. well, that's life for you.

so, yeah, that's it. hope i didn't get too mushy with their reunion.

thanks for reading!


	25. The Newcomer and the Professional

Chapter 24

Lionel was waiting along the rim of the city as sunset came. He had lost Mark, a careless mistake that he couldn't afford to make again. Fortunately, even if Mark did go after Maple, there was no reason to believe that he would actually make it through the forest. He would be forced to give up and follow Lionel's advice.

That gave Lionel the opening he needed.

A human Leafeon. An Eevee evolution and a very powerful one, at that. She had been tough enough to take down a human Blastoise in one hit, impressive stuff for a beginner. Now if Lionel could just get his hands on her…

He checked the collar a dozen times. It seemed to be working right, but he could never tell. There were too many lights and buttons on the thing. Why couldn't they just make it easier on him and have two modes: obey and attack? That's all he needed, just two.

A noise coming from the forest caught his attention. Fumbling, he stashed the collar into his backpack and brought up the binoculars. His hiding spot along the fringe of the city was a comfortable distance away from the forest. He'd be able to watch them come out and follow Maple without any sort of trouble. It would be an easy job as long as everything worked out the way he had planned.

Lionel already knew what he'd say to her, too. It wouldn't be hard to convince her that he and Mark had been out looking for her all day and if she stuck with Lionel, she'd be able to see him again before the night was over. Just a little bit of trust was all he needed. Then when he had it, the collar would click around that pretty little neck and he'd have her. Simple.

Through the tunnel vision of the binoculars, Lionel swept the tree line, looking for his quarry. At last, he caught sight of the old man, in his absurd straw hat, shuffling his feet as he walked out of the forest. Behind him, Maple was skipping in that precious, innocent way she had about her.

But then, Lionel gaped on the other side of his binoculars. Mark was there. Right next to her. Talking to her and holding her hand while she skipped next to him.

"Shit!" Lionel cursed, throwing the binoculars aside. Now what the hell was he going to do? He did too good of a job. They were supposed to be apart! Now they really were joined at the hip! What the hell?

"Dammit, dammit, GOD DAMMIT!" Lionel kicked the wall in frustration. Farin was going to kill him. Lionel had promised him another Eevee evolution and now his plans were ruined. The truly terrifying thing was that Lionel might not be exaggerating when he thought that Farin might kill him.

Preoccupied with his mission to kidnap Maple, Lionel took no notice of the human Raichu hiding in the shadows not more than a block away.

* * *

><p>Maple stopped, her ears perking up.<p>

"What is it?" Mark asked.

"It's nothing," Maple shook her head, "I thought I heard somebody yelling, but it's gone, now."

"Oh, alright," Mark remained concerned, but he decided not to press the issue. After all, he didn't want to ruin the night. Or was it that he was too happy to argue?

"So, you know what you're doing?" Aurum asked them for the fifth time. Katana and Billow had retired into their Pokéballs for the night, leaving the three alone. They had trained for another hour after Maple had mastered the Red State, but it was getting too dark and Maple was too tired to continue. Although, she certainly didn't show any sign of it while she happily gazed at Mark and soaked in the warm feeling of his hand in hers.

"Yes, we do," Mark nodded, "we'll meet you in the square tomorrow morning for the 'test.'" He hesitated, before continuing, "wouldn't it help more to train rather than challenge somebody?"

"No," Aurum waved his hands, warding away Mark's suggestion, "I need to see you in a real battle. An even fight where you could win or lose. It's a field test to see how far you've come."

"Alright," Mark nodded, somehow he felt stronger with Maple next to him, like this, "we'll see you tomorrow."

"Good," Aurum nodded, satisfied, "pleasant dreams." He held out his hand in a half-hearted wave as he walked away. The two watched him go for a few minutes before turning to each other.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Mark asked.

"I dunno," Maple sighed as she and Mark began to swing their hands back and forth in a pendulum motion.

"We could…go back to the room," Mark suggested, but Maple shook her head playfully, "we could…go explore the island a bit more." Again, Maple shook her head through her smile. "We still haven't seen the beach."

Again, Maple shook her head, a little more adamantly, "I don't like sand."

"Yeah, me neither," Mark smiled as he shook his head, "we should probably go back to the hotel so you should change, actually." Mark gestured to Maple's dirty and blood-stained dress, which didn't seem to bother her.

"Oh," Maple was a tad disappointed by this idea, but she knew that she should agree.

"Hmm…" Maple really did need a change of clothes, but Mark didn't want to kill the feeling he was getting, either, "I guess it can wait," he paused before continuing, "do you just want to walk around and see what happens?"

"Sure," Maple chimed, "I'd be okay with that."

And so, the two walked hand-in-hand through the night as the first day of the tournament came to an end.

* * *

><p>It was a little after ten o'clock at night when Cal heard the voice of his target. He had been leaning up against the side of a convenience store waiting for her to come a bit closer. Judging by the voice, she wasn't far away, maybe ten yards. Just a little bit more and he would have her.<p>

His target was a human Meganium, a sweet little thing about twenty years old. She was wearing a one-piece, pale green dress decorated with pink flower petals around the shoulders. Her long hair was the same pale green color, which complimented her light skin tone lovingly. Truth be told, Cal hadn't picked her for any reason beyond the fact that he wanted to do more than just capture the pretty thing.

It wouldn't be hard, and this certainly wasn't Cal's first time. All he needed to do was get her alone. After that, it was a simple matter of getting close enough to slip a collar around her sweet, slim neck. Then, everything was done for him and it would be over before it even started.

He toyed with the idea of maybe, just maybe letting her scream a little before he put it on. Just a short little squeak would be heavenly. But, he knew better. Any sound like that, even a short, quiet one would be too much. People could get really suspicious really fast when it came to human Pokémon. Maybe he could afford little indulgences like that if he were after a regular person, but not so in this tight little community.

"I just don't know what could be wrong with Silvy…" Cal heard the annoying voice of his quarry's trainer. Her constant presence had kept Cal from making a move. He had found the Meganium-girl yesterday and had been tailing her, waiting for an opportunity ever since.

"Maybe he just needs some time to himself," the soft voice of Cal's target responded, offering gentle consolation, "he gets in these moods sometimes, but he'd never really leave us."

"I don't know, Aroma…" Cal was so far away that he barely heard the whispered words, "something is really wrong, this time. I can't find him anywhere. What if there really are kidnappers around and they got him?" The girl's voice spiked with sudden alarm.

"Now, I'm sure that Silver can-" Aroma tried to respond, but she was cut off.

"Oh my God! What if he really did get kidnapped?" the frantic girl began to panic, "oh, my poor Silvy!" Aroma tried to call out to her, but she was gone. In her panic over one lost human Pokémon, she was about to lose another. Cal found it all very humorous. Stepping out of the shadows, he approached Aroma.

"Say, did I just hear that you were looking for somebody?" he flashed a smile at Aroma, who started with alarm, "oh, sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to scare you there."

"I-it's alright," Aroma said, flustered, "we're all really worried about Silver, that's all."

"Silver?" Cal said with false concern, "say…what kind of human Pokémon is Silver?"

"Oh, he's an Absol," Aroma answered, "he usually acts sort of…well, mean, I guess…but he's really nice, deep down…" Cal liked what he saw in those eyes as Aroma trailed off.

"You care about him, don't you?" Cal asked, genuinely interested this time.

"Yes," Aroma said after a few seconds, "yes, I do care about him." She shook her head, "I'm sorry, I haven't even really introduced myself."

"It's quite alright," Cal smiled a winning smile, "no introductions necessary. Just think of me as a concerned stranger."

"Oh, okay," Aroma couldn't help but smile back, "I will do that."

"Good," Cal nodded and paused for just the right amount of time before continuing, "you know, I think I may have seen your friend, not that far from here."

"Really? Where?" Aroma started, "I-is he alright?"

"I'm sure he's fine," Cal glanced around the street, there were a good number of people in the area, but none of them seemed suspicious. If he was subtle, and he always was, he could slip away with the girl and it would be done. No one would know.

"I could take you to him, if you'd like," Cal offered, smiling again.

"Umm…I really should get Lily," Aroma searched the street, looking for her trainer, "she'll want to see him, too."

"That's awfully nice of you," Cal complimented, "not all human Pokémon think that way."

"What do you mean?" Aroma stopped looking for Lily and turned to face Cal.

"Well, most don't think twice about their trainer's feelings after they evolve," Cal lied, "after all, you're all grown up and independent now. No need to rely on immature little trainers, anymore. You can take care of yourself."

"Right…" Aroma nodded and looked up and down the street again, "you said you could take me to where Silver is?"

"Well, where I saw him last, at least," Cal shrugged, "could've left by now."

"We should hurry, then," Aroma said, her soft voice turning hard with determination.

"Absolutely," Cal nodded. Grinning to himself, he turned and began to lead Aroma away from the busy street.

He kept the pace quick, to satisfy Aroma. Really, he wanted to slow down and enjoy it. Maybe let the fear sink in a little bit before the collar snapped in place and she was his. But, he was too professional for that.

A professional was exactly what he was, after all. He had been doing this longer than anyone else on the entire Himitsu Island team. There was an art to it that most of the others forgot about. Sometimes, a simple, yet carefully executed plan worked the best. Provided you had the talent to pull it off. A lot of people didn't realize that.

Of course, he was thinking about Lionel. The stupid kid acted like he owned the place just a few weeks after joining. What the hell did he know? Cal had been doing this before the brat had even started catching normal Pokémon. Now he claimed to be able to catch an Eevee evolution.

Those things were wonderful trophies. Everything their organization had learned about forcing regular Pokémon to evolve had come from the two Eevee evolutions already in their possession. The kid toted around the human Espeon with him and he thought it made him special. The reality was that he was weak and their scientists had already learned everything they could from it. Having it meant nothing.

Apparently the kid was on the trail of a human Leafeon, not a bad prize, especially since she was also just a couple weeks old. Cal himself had been doing reconnaissance on a human Vaporeon that hung around the beaches. The trouble was, she was quite a popular piece of ass and Cal couldn't get within fifty meters of her. That left PureBlueSky's human Glaceon as the only other known Eevee evolution that had made the jump into the human world. And absolutely no one wanted to give PureBlueSky a reason to be angry.

His failure with the Vaporeon-girl was what drove Cal to his current target. He was depressed and needed something to lift his spirits. A pretty grass Pokémon would do nicely.

He unfolded the collar as they walked, careful to keep it hidden. The street they were on gradually became less crowded. Just a little bit more.

A girl and her human Wigglytuff passed by them and Cal gave just a quick glance around the area before ducking into an even quieter side street. He gradually slowed his pace, letting Aroma close the distance between the two of them. Distracted with concern over the human Absol, she didn't have any idea what Cal was about to do. He had counted on it.

With a quick, fluid motion, Cal dropped in beside her. And there was still no suspicion in those pretty eyes. God, it was almost too easy!

Cal snapped the collar into place around Aroma's neck. It was done. Now she was all his.

"Hey, what the…" Aroma stopped and tugged on the collar. It hung loosely around her neck, slipping to one side. But then it started to close, self-adjusting to fit around Aroma's slim neck.

The remote for it was already in Cal's hand. At the press of a button, Aroma's body was racked with pain as electricity shot through her. She made a curious whining noise when it happened, which Cal allowed himself to enjoy.

"That's a good girl," Cal chuckled, "just be good and I won't have to do that very much."

"You son of a-" Aroma was cut off as another numbing surge of electricity coursed through her and she dropped to her knees.

"That's right," Cal felt a light bulb go on over his head, "I forgot that grass Pokémon need an extra dose. Silly me." He shocked Aroma again just so he could hear her make that lovely whining sound.

"You sure are a pretty thing to look at," Cal grinned, bending down so that he was at eye level with his prize, "maybe I'll keep you for me, once the tournament's over."

"Whatever…you want me for…I won't do it," Aroma hissed as she gasped for air.

"Oh," Cal chuckled again, "but you will. Watch." Playing with the dials on the remote, he forced Aroma to stand. A sort of paralysis made her body go rigid as he worked the controls. He made her walk back and forth a few paces, delighting in the amount of control he had. No matter how many times he used it, the collar never ceased to amaze him.

"Alright," Cal sighed before reverting back to being a professional again, "playtime's over. Let's get on with the delivery." Still chuckling to himself Cal led his new toy through the city. Back to base camp, where the others would be waiting for him, the rest of Team Deus.

* * *

><p>AN: sorry to bring you down after the extreme happiness chapter, but it needed to be done. keeps the story balanced.<p>

the logic behind the Eevees as being the best for their research stems from Eevee's easily adaptable nature (yes, i am someone that wants an Eevee-evolution of every type) and it's slightly easier for Eevee and it's evolutions to evolve into humans (generally speaking, even though there's only a couple that have made the leap [all girls, coincidentally]).

and that's it. thanks for reading and for all the wonderful reviews i keep getting!


	26. New Friends and Old Secrets

Chapter 25

The morning of the second day of the tournament was another warm, cloudless day. Trainers and guests alike poured out of the hotel, splitting off to watch the next match, train for their own, or simply explore the shops and enjoy the beautiful weather that Himitsu Island offered.

As always, the main square rapidly filled with trainers and their human Pokémon. This time, however, Mark felt as though he could enjoy it a bit more than yesterday.

"Did something happen between you two?" Kim thought that she didn't really need to ask it, but it seemed like the appropriate question. It was what most people would ask in a situation like this, despite how unnecessary it was.

All the signs were there, Kim wasn't blind, after all. She didn't need somebody to point out how Mark and Maple both blushed whenever their eyes met or how they directed everything they had to say to each other before anyone else. And she certainly didn't need to be told that they were both much happier than they had been the day before.

Once again, they glanced at each other before Mark responded, "what do you mean?"

"Just spill it," Kim sighed, but still grinned, "it's cute and all, but seriously, I haven't seen somebody act this obvious since I was twelve."

The two glanced at each other, again. A moment later, they reached out and held each other's hands.

"Was that so hard?" Kim's voice was scolding, but she was really fighting back laughter, "you both are so weird…"

"Sorry," Maple apologized, flushing with embarrassment.

"It's fine," Kim let herself laugh a little bit, "so, what the hell did you call us out here for, anyway?"

Their incessant glancing was starting to get a little annoying, "Aurum let us train with him, yesterday," Mark took a turn at responding to Kim, "he wants to check our progress by challenging somebody."

"Sorry," Kim shook her head, "saving my energy for the tourney." Volt, who had been silent all morning, twitched his ear but displayed no further response. He stood apart from the others, lost in thought.

"Well, actually, Maple just thought it would be nice of us to invite you along," Mark explained with the embarrassed tone of someone attempting to un-invite someone from a party, "we didn't really think about battling you."

"So, you just wanted somebody to brag to?" Kim wasn't altogether too surprised that she felt a little jealous of the two. Training under Aurum had been a dream for many human Pokémon trainers. Although she never specifically thought about it, Kim had to admit that it would be nice to put on her résumé.

"No, it's not that…" Maple stumbled over the words, trying to pick the right ones, "The thing is…well, it's just that…you're the first human girl I ever met. So…can we please be friends?"

Maple's big eyes were filled with hope and Kim thought it would be a shame to dash it to pieces without a damn good reason, "Sure. We can be friends. I don't see why not." Maple beamed and hugged her, but forgot to let go of Mark's hand. The movement resulted in Mark being flung around behind Kim and causing an unexpected group hug.

Volt took a moment to consider the unusual sight. He realized that he probably should've felt left out, but he was still working out how he was going to break the news about Lionel's betrayal and repeated lies without sounding paranoid. Sooner or later he would have to tell them, but he also needed to be sure that they would listen. He had to be careful.

"Alright, alright," Kim disentangled herself from the awkward grouping, "when's Aurum getting here, anyway?"

"Up here," a childish chirp sounded above their heads. The three looked up to see Billow floating upside down a few meters above their heads.

"The hell…?" was all Kim could manage to say.

"Hi, Billow!" Maple waved cheerfully, unfazed by Billow's current position.

"Hi, Miss Maple," the tiny Drifblim-girl waved back, "master Aurum says he wants to watch from up there," she pointed to the roof of a building a few blocks west of them, "he says he doesn't want to get in your way."

"Get in our way?" Mark raised an eyebrow, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"Too many people," Billow chirped, "master doesn't like crowds."

That sounded odd, at first, but after another minute, Mark decided that it probably made sense. He didn't have much fondness for crowds either, and the square seemed even more packed than the day before. It would probably be just a matter of time before someone recognized them and challenged the only competitor with a single human Pokémon. He wondered how many people really did resent that.

"ANYway," Billow rocked her head back and forth, grinning playfully, "fight whoever you want and master will come get you when you're done." She floated directly upwards for another few meters before leveling out and drifting off towards the building she had indicated as Aurum's vantage point.

"You guys have some weird taste in friends," Kim said as she watched Billow float away.

Mark ignored her and started looking around the square. Most of his life, he never really challenged other trainers. Of course, he had to challenge Gym Leaders if he wanted his badges. But when it came to challenging people on the street, Mark usually waited to be challenged.

What made the situation particularly strange was that the square was probably crammed with trainers. He could walk up to any random person and they would most likely be a trainer.

But would any random person be a good opponent? What exactly did Aurum want out of this?

Mark started stumbling through the crowds, Maple close behind him. With some luck, somebody might recognize them and challenge them. Of course, as Mark wandered and tried to look as if he was going somewhere, no one did. He was starting to wonder if he should give up and hold a sign over his head that said "Human Leafeon seeks sparring partner, inquire within." It would certainly be faster, but it might make him feel more like an idiot than he already did.

"You lost, or something?" a young man called from a table near one of the outdoor cafés that lined the square. His hair was jet black and a short, stubbly beard grew like grass sprouts in an otherwise empty field, on his face. He was well-dressed, at least Mark had been told that people who were well-dressed looked like that. But his smile showed genuine kindness, even if it was unintentionally condescending.

"Umm…not really," Mark replied, trying to cover up his poor attempt at being casual.

"You sure?" the hipster responded, "you've been walking around in circles for a while now."

"Right…" suddenly finding himself backed into a corner, Mark decided to come clean, "are you a trainer?"

"Yeah…" he didn't say it, but his tone suggested a follow-up of '_isn't everyone here a trainer?_'

"Okay," Mark nodded, "well, you see, umm…this is Maple," he gestured to the girl at his side rocking on her heels, "we're looking for an opponent to…train against."

The hipster blinked a few times before responding, "are you challenging me to a battle?"

"Yes," Mark nodded, glad to finally have the words out in the open.

"Sure," the young man responded, "just give me a second." Tilting his head back, he downed the coffee he had been drinking and stood up. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Uh, Mark," the young boy answered.

"Nice to meet you, Mark, Maple," the hipster nodded to each of them, "my name's Alex. I'd be more than happy to battle you."

"Oh, thank you," Mark said, "I'm not at all used to challenging people."

"I never would've guessed," Alex smirked, "back up a bit, would ya? There, that's good. Coraline!" Alex dropped his Pokéball and a human Banette appeared in front of him.

"Oh…dammit," Coraline squinted in the early morning light, "it's too early for this."

"Come now, just a quick fight and you can go back to sleep," Alex attempted to console her, "for me?" Coraline looked over her shoulder and couldn't help but melt in the presence of that smile of his.

"The things I do for love," Coraline was careful to speak too quietly for Alex to hear her.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd actually find somebody at the rate you were going," Kim teased Mark before stepping forward, "I'll referee if nobody minds."

"Go for it," Alex agreed, after another few seconds he added to it, "best looking referee I've ever had." Coraline's pale skin immediately turned scarlet and she forgot about how early it was.

"Okay, Maple," Mark encouraged, "let's do it." Maple skipped out in front of him and waved to her opponent. Coraline raised an eyebrow; she wondered how many blond-bimbo Pokémon girls there were in the world.

Kim moved to a spot roughly halfway between the two trainers and stood off to the side by a good ten meters. All around them, the crowd was both dispersing, to give them room, and bunching up, to get a closer look. When she was satisfied with the size of the battleground, Kim raised her hand.

"Begin!" she shouted.

Maple closed her eyes, feeling for the Red state. With a human Banette as her opponent, the battle would be a fairly even match-up with no obvious type advantage. However, Coraline undoubtedly had a good deal more experience as a human Pokémon than Maple did. That meant that the Red state was going to be her biggest advantage. It might even win the fight for her.

"Start with Will-o-Wisp," Alex commanded. His voice was even and thoughtful. He didn't rush into things by nature. He needed to test Maple before he knew how to proceed.

Coraline cupped her hands and concentrated. After a second, a spark of blue flame appeared in her hands then gradually grew into a brightly burning fireball. She opened her eyes and aimed it at Maple. She blew at the back of the fireball and it began to drift towards Maple. Weaving and bobbing, it drifted through the air like a moth searching for a light source. Will-o-Wisp was not a fast attack, but its strange pattern made avoiding it difficult.

With the blue fireball at thirty meters and closing quickly, Maple still had not activated the Red state. It was there, she could feel it, but something was wrong. She couldn't concentrate. It wasn't just training anymore, this was a real battle. It was a real battle with a whole crowd of people watching her. She needed the Red state, but she couldn't reach it. Meanwhile, the ball of flame was getting closer.

"Maple, move," Mark said in a harsh whisper, "forget the Red state, you have to move."

"But…" Maple opened her eyes and saw that the Will-o-Wisp was now just ten meters away.

"_Move_," Mark urged her. Abandoning the Red state, Maple watched the strange pattern of the fireball coming at her. It spiraled in and out, leaving a streak of blue behind it as it moved. Maple waited until it was a mere two meters away. She rolled under the blue fireball, flattening herself against the ground as much as possible, but it wasn't enough. The flame caught her left shoulder, burning a wound that caused no significant damage but made her grimace in pain. Involuntarily, she grabbed hold of the spot where it tore into her and bit her lip, trying to will the pain away. The Will-o-Wisp disappeared, its job done.

"Shadow Sneak," Alex commanded. Fighting through the pain, Maple sprang to her feet and watched in shock as Coraline melted into a shadow along the ground. A formless dark shape moved along the ground directly towards Maple. It passed behind Maple before abruptly stopping. Coraline materialized right behind Maple and kicked her in the middle of her back, knocking her forward, but Maple managed to stay on her feet.

"Maple, Leaf Blade," Mark said quickly, seizing the opportunity to turn the tide. Maple's tail glowed for a brief moment before she spun and slashed at Coraline. But the human Banette was just a little too fast and she managed to back up just a split second before Maple's tail would've ripped into her stomach.

"Dammit…" Mark swore. Even with the close range and the element of surprise, Maple had missed. On top of that, Coraline hadn't missed yet, and Mark could tell by Alex's demeanor that he still had something up his sleeve. Maple needed her ace, she needed the Red state.

Maple grabbed her shoulder again as the pain flared up. She had been so close. She could see the fear in Coraline's eyes. That attack would've down incredible damage if it had only hit. So far, Coraline had just kept her distance and toyed with her. She couldn't go toe-to-toe with Maple without risking serious injury. All Maple needed was the Red state. If she got it to work, the fight would be over. She just needed the time to activate it.

"Another Shadow Sneak," Alex said, his voice was contemplative. There was something wrong. It couldn't be this easy.

Coraline once again melted into the ground and moved forward, quick as the wind. Maple tried to anticipate her movement and moved to slash behind her, but this time, Coraline attacked as she reformed. She kicked Maple in the side and bounded backwards, out of Maple's range.

Pain screamed in Maple's shoulder again and she gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. She glared at Coraline, anger welling up in her. What was she doing wrong? She was fighting her hardest and it didn't make any difference. Was Maple really that weak without the Red state? Why did nothing make any difference?

No, she couldn't be this weak. It wasn't possible. Just yesterday she had defeated a human Blastoise in one attack. Where was that power now? Clenching her hands into fists, Maple was trembling from anger and frustration.

The world went blank for a few moments.

Maple blinked and found herself standing over a bleeding Coraline. Two crisscrossing diagonal slashes were cut into her waist, each one an inch deep. Blood poured from the wounds and Coraline coughed up a mouthful before passing out.

The vibrant color and intense fragrance of the blood reminded Maple she was in the Red state, but it was under control. Her enemy defeated in such a violent manner had apparently satisfied whatever needs the Red state sought. Frightened by the pure brutality of it, Maple stood frozen in place. What would have happened if she didn't take control back?

Alex recalled Coraline, his face white with shock. The Leafeon-girl had gone berserk and there was nothing he or Coraline could have done to stop it. His human Banette went down mere seconds after it happened. Just a hideous snarl from the girl that had seemed so sweet just moments ago, and it was over.

However, the young man had seen that before. That berserker rage had come out in the strongest of his human Pokémon. Alex could practically feel Whisper's Pokéball burn with excitement. Another had done it. Another had embraced the most basic of animal instincts and harnessed it for power. The instinct to kill.

But, no, that wasn't quite right. This Maple wasn't quite like Whisper. Alex had witnessed it first hand and he had seen the change in her eyes. She had lost control for just a second. But once the damage was done, once she had seen what she was capable of, she was back again. Fear registered in those big, brown eyes of hers. Whisper never had fear like that in his eyes.

Alex contemplated what to do next. The Leafeon-girl in front of him just became a lot stronger. She would be strong enough to take on Whisper, maybe even win. It would be a little early to unleash him. Alex had planned on waiting until a tournament match, but if he didn't use him, there was almost no chance of victory, now.

Was victory that important? He glanced around the crowd. So many people, it was practically a tournament fight already. Suppose Whisper ignored his opponent and went straight for them? It would be easy to just ignore Maple. Too easy. No, Alex had to wait. The solitary field of the tournament was where Whisper would be unleashed. Not here, where so much could go wrong.

That left three options; Cascade, Dozer, or just concede. However, Dozer wasn't really an option. It was difficult enough to persuade him to fight in a tournament battle. A random battle on the street was out of the question. That left Cascade. As a water-type, Maple's Leaf Blade would have the same results as it did against the defensively weak Coraline. But Cascade had Ice Beam which stood a solid chance at taking down Maple in one hit. If she got it off.

So, that was it. Gamble on the chance that Cascade might hit, or just give up. One chance…was it worth it? There was only one way to find out.

"Cascade," Alex said, worry laced in his voice instead of the normal calm. His human Seaking appeared, stretching her lithe body and smoothing out her bleach-blond hair.

"Ah…it's so nice out," Cascade smiled, the polar opposite of Coraline. She glanced around for a few seconds before asking, "are we fighting?"

"Yes, we're fighting," Alex sighed, "I'm not going to lie to you. We're probably going to lose."

"Ohhhh," Cascade whined, "that's no fun…"

"We have one chance at winning, Cascade," Alex tried to sound brave for her, it usually helped in these sorts of situations, "one chance and then it'll probably be over."

"O-okay," Cascade stammered, "just…tell me what to do. And I'll make you proud of me."

"Okay," Alex sighed. He signaled to Kim that he was ready. She waited for the murmuring of the crowd to quiet down. Alex was clearly desperate if he called out a water-type against a grass-type. The fight was going to end very soon.

"Begin!"

Maple could still feel her blood pumping through her veins and her heart racing out of control. The pain from the burn on her arm barely registered. The Red state was still in full swing and wouldn't dissipate until she willed it to stop. There was a water human Pokémon across from her. One attack and it would be over. Did she want to make that one attack?

"Cascade, do it," Alex issued his last order, "Ice Beam."

Cascade bent forward slightly and held her hands in front of the tip of her horn concentrating energy for the attack. She blew what looked like frost through her lips and it gathered together between her hands. Her horn began to glow and the attack was almost ready.

Maple had frozen in place, as if she had already been hit by the attack. Ice Beam. There was almost nothing that she feared more than that attack. Red state or no Red state, she wasn't moving. The glow of the Red state began to fade as the fear spread through her.

"Maple," Mark called out to her, "it's alright. It's just an attack like any other. But you have to move!" Cascade finished and a jet of super-cooled water shot from the tip of her horn, directly centered on Maple.

If it weren't for the Red state, Maple would've suffered a direct hit and Alex would've won immediately. But the world's glow seemed to slow time and Maple used the Red state to dodge for the very first time. The jet of water landed on the ground a short distance behind where Maple had once stood and froze on contact.

Maple's movements were a blur as she closed the distance between herself and the human Seaking. She came right up to her, well within range of the Leaf Blade.

"Finish this, Leaf Blade!" Mark called. But Maple didn't attack. The image of Coraline's bloody body flashed briefly before her eyes and she hesitated. She would have to do the same to Cascade. Was that okay?

Dumbfounded by the second chance, Alex didn't issue the command for a second Ice Beam until Cascade had asked him for further orders.

"Uh, Ice Beam," he stammered. At close range, it would be risky, but he was astonished that this chance had been granted him. That girl really was not the monster that he had seen in Whisper.

"Maple, now or never," Mark urged, "Leaf Blade!" This time, with the attack charging right in front of her and her forgotten fear of the Ice Beam returning, she had one more chance. But this time, she wouldn't attack with unrelenting, brutal force. She didn't need that.

The Leaf Blade slashed through the lower portion of Cascade's chest. A clean, half-inch deep cut sliced through her dress and blood began seeping through. Cascade lost her focus on the Ice Beam and the energy dissipated. Her body racked with pain, she fell to her knees, and then crumpled on the ground.

Cascade closed her eyes and the red light enveloped her as Alex recalled his human Seaking. He shook his head at Kim, indicating that he no longer wished to fight.

She declared Mark the winner amidst a chorus of stunned gasps from the crowd.

* * *

><p>AN: Alex (remember this guy from almost 20 chapters ago?) is back and he's a hipster. who knew? i didn't, until i forced myself to describe him<p>

oh, and if you haven't noticed, there's been a distinct lack of Gen. V human Pokemon. that's mostly because i first established the story back before black and white were officially announced and i'm still not fully comfortable with Gen. V just yet (i've been playing since the RBY days and it takes us old timers a little while to get used to the new generations).

that being said, i've left slots open for Black/White Pokemon to fill in and Whisper is the first of them (hence his fairly generic name).

i guess that's it. as always, thanks for reading!


	27. Those We Face

Chapter 26

The crowd that had gathered to watch the impromptu human Pokémon battle was slow to disperse after the display they had just seen.

"They say that's his only human Pokémon," somebody whispered.

"Damn, it's powerful," someone else added.

"How'd it move like that? Nobody but the Four has human Pokémon like that."

"Yeah, and what happened when it freaked out? That was weird…"

Mark wanted to scream at them to go away and leave them alone. Maple was already frightened from having involuntarily gone into the Red state. The last thing she needed was vague rumors and whispers saying that she was a freak. To be considered a freak and a monster among these people that had welcomed her with open arms just the day before…Mark couldn't imagine a worse fate.

"It's alright," Mark held her in his arms, "don't pay any attention to them. They'll leave soon."

"That was awesome!"

Mark could hardly believe it when he heard Ian's small voice pierce through the crowd. He looked over to see the boy breaking through the front ranks, Flurry close behind. He was ecstatic over the battle and he rushed up to congratulate them both.

The boy's appearance had the profound effect of making the crowd disperse. It was as if they all remembered at once why they liked Pokémon in the first place.

Maple sniffed back a tear and knelt down to talk with Ian. But before she could start, another wave of pain passed over her shoulder and she held it, shuddering.

"Here, use one of mine," Kim offered a Burn Heal formulated for human Pokémon to Mark, "it's a spray on, so, that's your job." Nodding, Mark took the bottle of liquid and knelt down with Maple. Her shoulder was badly blistered and the second-degree burns looked like they were getting worse. He squirted the salve onto her burned skin and then rubbed it in by hand. A soft coolness soaked into Maple's skin as if a gentle breeze were wafting over her. She moaned softly as the pain faded at Mark's touch. Moments later, her skin was healed and the burn was gone.

"Better?" he asked.

"Very," Maple gasped, "very much better."

"Impressive battling," Alex joined the after party, "not particularly creative, but a fun match nonetheless."

"Alex," Mark had expected him to have disappeared, but the hipster had remained behind to congratulate him.

"Are Coraline and Cascade okay?" Maple asked, worry filled her eyes.

"They'll be fine," Alex smiled. He found her concern adorable, "I gave them both Revives. We'll take a trip to the Pokémon Center, but they'll be just fine."

"Good…" Maple breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright," Alex clapped his hands together, "congratulations. That was a great match. Maybe we will see you again in a more official fight. Maybe I'll win next time. Or…maybe you'll kick my ass again."

"Guess we'll see," Mark nodded. He wondered about that. There was definitely something more to Alex than he was letting on. Mark had no idea what it was, but it had something to do with the Red state. After all, he hadn't been that surprised when Maple lost control.

Alex bid them farewell and left, walking in the direction of the Pokémon Center.

By that time, most of the crowd had dispersed. But a few individuals remained, watching the human Leafeon and her trainer.

"What d'you think, Apollo?" Cerberus, a human Houndoom asked the human Swellow on his right, his voice was a deep Doberman-like growl.

"She's still a baby," Apollo considered, "but that sure is an interesting talent."

"Do you think she's prettier than me?" Cleo, the human Persian scowled at Maple.

"Nah, baby," Cerberus shook his head, "she's cute, but she's just a little kid. She's not half the woman you are."

"You're right," Cleo straightened with pride, "I _am_ wonderful, aren't I?"

"Whatever," Cerberus snorted, "let's go say 'hello.'" He led his two followers down to the small group of humans and human Pokémon. He took long, confident strides and grinned his jagged teeth as he walked nonchalantly up to the small group.

"How's it going, baby?" Cerberus purred at Maple, "quite a fun sight to watch you fight them girls back there."

"And just who the hell are you?" Mark snapped. The man in front of Mark was half a foot taller than him, but he was also quite a bit broader. His exposed chest was deeply muscled as were his legs and arms. He wore a long black trench coat adorned with what appeared to be pieces of bone. His burnt orange pants were similarly decorated with bones and he even wore a skull necklace and belt buckle. Dagger-like teeth, curved horns and a thin spade-tipped tail gave away his identity as a human Houndoom. In the end, Mark was a little surprised that he managed to keep all of the fear and alarm out of his voice.

"'Scuse me, but I'm talking to this lovely piece of ass, right now," Cerberus countered without batting an eye.

"Piss off," Kim joined Mark and stepped in front of Maple.

"Stand aside," the human Swellow at the Houndoom's left warned, "or we'll make you." The Swellow-man was dressed like a rich gentleman. His great wings were folded against the back of his night-blue suit coat. He wore red dress pants and a white dress shirt that had probably been stained with blood on more than one occasion, but no marks remained.

"You really want to have another fight right here and now?" Kim produced Cotton's Pokéball, hoping to bluff her way out. After all, Cotton wouldn't stand a chance against a Houndoom, Swellow, and Persian all at the same time. If the bluff failed, the best she could do was stall and hope that Volt hadn't wandered too far away.

"Hey, Cerberus," the Persian-woman spoke up, "you just said that _I'd_ be more fun than this little school girl." She wore a black suit jacket. The white shirt she wore underneath it was tight enough to be a second skin. The mini-skirt clung to her in a similar fashion and her exposed nylon stockings classified her as a high-class woman of loose ethics. That was, if it weren't for the ears and tail of a Persian that labeled her as a human Pokémon.

"You are baby," Cerberus cooed, covering his tracks, "but I do wonder…" He craned his neck to look around Kim and peer at Maple.

"Back the hell up," Mark took a step forward, blocking the weakened Maple.

"And you'll do what to stop me?" Cerberus glared down at Mark. As emphasis, he blew a small puff of fire out of the side of his mouth.

_This is bad_, Mark thought. He didn't know what it would take, but he was going to protect Maple.

"Well, isn't this cute," Volt appeared and Kim glanced back in relief, "the dog, the cat and the bird all getting along. Now, that's just adorable."

"Why, Volt!" Cerberus spread his arms, "so nice to see you!"

"You know him?" Mark looked back at Volt.

"We fought them last year," Kim admitted.

"Sure did!" Cerberus chuckled, "now where's that hot piece of ass that was with you guys back then? Sprinkle? Was that her name? Great name for a hooker."

Volt stormed forward and stepped in front of Mark, not even a full inch away from Cerberus's face, "Say that again and I'll make you regret it." He grinned before continuing, "...or would you rather that she washed that smirk off your face all over again?"

Cerberus scowled down at Volt for a bit before regaining his composure, "nah, man. We don't need to get her when there's this cute little Leafeon sitting right here."

"You're gonna have to take her," Volt dared him.

"Think you can stop us all?" Cerberus grinned at the idea. As far as he saw it, all that stood between him and what he wanted was Volt. The humans didn't even count.

"I-I can fight," Maple said, getting to her feet.

"No, stay back," Volt motioned to not just Maple but to all of them.

"Now that's cute," Cerberus glanced between the two, "the mouse standing up for the…the hell are you, anyway?"

"Umm…I'm a Leafeon," Maple answered, confused.

The sound of Volt's palm smacking his forehead seemed to echo around the square.

"You'll have to fight me, too," Flurry stepped forward to add strength to the group standing between Cerberus and Maple.

"Well, this shit just keeps getting better," Cerberus cracked his knuckles.

"Hey, Cerberus," there was a warning edge in Apollo's voice as he talked down his hot-headed leader, "you better not. That's Flurry. She's one of PureBlueSky's."

Cerberus turned to stare at Flurry. Grudgingly, he growled at Volt and pointed a finger in his face, "don't think this is over."

"What's not over, Cerberus?" a new voice coming from behind Cerberus made all three of the hostile human Pokémon turn towards it.

"Boss…" Cerberus knelt down, followed swiftly by Apollo and Cleo. Standing over them was a boy just two or three years older than Mark. However, the way he stood and talked suggested that he was at least ten years older than that. He looked down at his human Pokémon with a strange mixture of pride and disgust.

"I brought you guys here to let loose," he started, shaking his head, "and you guys start to go nuts in the square? The _shit_?" He backhanded Cerberus across the face. The Houndoom-man undoubtedly felt little pain from the assault, but his ego was obviously scarred.

"I'm sorry, boss," he whimpered, "we won't do it, again."

"Spare me," the boy spat, "just be sure to save it for the tournament. Maybe then we can actually get farther than Round One this year."

Volt's group stared at the boy as he enacted justice on his human Pokémon to keep them in line. Mark had no idea what the hell was happening, but every single one of them seemed insane.

"Sorry 'bout that," the boy apologized, "they're just restless, is all. Tristan Kesner, by the way." He extended his hand and went down the line, skipping only Maple and Ian. His grip was iron-hard and Mark thought he was attempting to break his hand.

"Anyways, sorry for any problems they caused you," he bowed slightly, "but we should be going." As he talked, he unfolded a collapsible steel rod. Before he left, he hit each of his human Pokémon with it smartly between the shoulder blades. Then the three obediently got up and left.

"Holy crap…" Mark stared after them in disbelief, "you fought them? God, they're insane! Every single one of them! And the trainer's the worst of them all."

"Umm…Mark," Kim spoke softly, "there's something I should tell you."

"What?" Mark didn't like where this was going.

"I probably should've told you this earlier," she sighed, "well, they were kinda nuts last time, but not at all like that. They've gotten worse. A lot worse."

"O-kay," Mark began, "so, what did you need to tell me, then?"

"Mark," Kim's voice was apologetic, "that's your first opponent."

"Shit…"

* * *

><p>Aurum was less than pleased with the results of their test. The purpose had been two-fold. First, they needed to test the Red state in a real battle. Second, he needed to make sure that Mark and Maple could take down an opponent without hesitation. They had failed both tests and nearly lost the fight because of it. Only the overdose of power granted by the Red state had saved them.<p>

However, Aurum was far from ready to give up. They were young and they were new, there were bound to be a few bumps in the road. At the very least, it was a useful experience. Maybe next time they'd do better. That was, if they made it through their next fight at all.

So, he took them back into Palkia's Woods to start training, yet again. This time, he chose to skip fishing for the day and joined them. He fought alongside Katana while Mark supported Maple.

Aurum's experienced eyes watched Maple closely as she moved. Weaknesses were everywhere. Small cracks dotted every aspect of her offensive and defensive movements. The worst was the split second of temporary blindness that happened whenever she spun around to use Leaf Blade. It only lasted for a few moments, but Katana exploited it every time and she was getting better and better at it.

As the day wore on, Maple gradually learned to cover most of those weaknesses. Sometimes she opened up others, but Katana was always quick to point out her mistakes with a well placed Night Slash or Ice Shard. The Leafeon-girl was learning, but Aurum doubted if it was enough.

Worse than the girl's weaknesses, Aurum was bothered by her trainer more than anything. The boy didn't seem to notice even half of the weaknesses that Aurum did. He should also have been picking up on Katana's weaknesses, as well. They were few, but they were there. With proper timing and attention to detail Maple should've hit Katana at least a dozen times already, but the trainer hadn't noticed the openings the way that he should be. It was sad to watch a trainer with a powerful human Pokémon waste its talent.

Finally, in the early afternoon, Aurum had had enough. He called the boy off to the side, out of earshot of the two human Pokémon.

"You're left-handed, aren't you?" Katana asked Maple as they both watched the two humans.

"You could tell?" Maple asked.

"You favor that side," Katana explained, "try to stay balanced between the two. It might feel strange, at first, but you'll get used to it. And it'll help cover a lot of your weak spots."

"Oh, thank you," Maple nodded. She wondered how Katana had picked up on that so easily. She had noticed almost no weaknesses in any of Katana's movements. With Aurum guiding her, she was even quicker than before. Even with the Red state constantly active, Maple could barely keep up with her.

"What do you see in him, anyway?" Katana asked as she watched the two humans talking.

"What?" Maple asked, confused by the suddenness of Katana's question.

"Your trainer," Katana began, "he doesn't seem like anything that special. He doesn't seem particularly observant, or creative in how he fights. I'd say he's average at best. So, why do you care about him so much?"

Maple hung her head, her ears drooping forward. Was Katana right? She and Aurum both didn't seem to care about Mark, at all. They had nothing but criticism for him. Maple they helped and encouraged, but Mark they were disappointed in. What did their experience show them that Maple and Mark couldn't see?

"You don't know him like I do," was the only response Maple could think of.

Katana looked over at Maple. She had struck a nerve with that one. Katana had to admit, she did like Maple. She hadn't at first, but Maple was just a tiny chick dreaming about flying. A day and a half of training had toughened her up a bit and Katana was actually starting to feel genuine affection for the girl. Hell, by the end of the tournament they might actually be friends.

"Well, whatever," Katana shrugged, "I guess we'll see tomorrow just how good he is. After all, for you to win against a Swellow, Persian and Houndoom, you're going to need something extra."

"Right…" Maple hung her head again. Cerberus, Apollo and Cleo. Every one of them was dangerous and Apollo and Cerberus had a type advantage over Maple. Was she strong enough to fight all three? Thinking back to the look in Cerberus's eyes…she was scared. Could she win against an opponent like that?

_Please, let Mark have a plan._

"What are you doing?" Aurum asked with disdain.

"What do you mean?" Mark didn't know how to respond to Aurum's hostility.

"You're standing back and doing nothing," Aurum snapped, "are you just going to stand back and let her get ripped apart? What's wrong with you?"

"What are you talking about?" Mark snapped back, "we're doing our best!"

"Your best isn't good enough," Aurum shook his head, "_she_ might be ready, but you're not."

"What…?" Mark was flabbergasted.

"You're not doing your job," Aurum said, "can you not see her weaknesses? Or Katana's? Does the fight move too fast for your eyes to follow?"

"I…" but Mark didn't have a response. Aurum was right. A trainer's job was to lend support, make decisions on how to attack, and, most importantly, be the eyes of the Pokémon in the battle. A trainer watched for weaknesses and predicted how his opponent would move. There would be no point to having a trainer if he or she couldn't see that.

"You're used to watching Pokémon, I understand that," Aurum nodded, "but you need to re-learn everything you knew by heart when she was a Leafeon. And you need to do it by tomorrow."

"Right…" Mark hung his head. A lot changed the instant Maple evolved, but exactly how much, Mark hadn't realized. Perhaps he never would understand everything. But he had to try. They had already lost if he just gave up.

"What should I do?" Mark asked the Golden Trainer.

"Stay here and watch," Aurum turned back to Katana and Maple, "focus on learning. Winning comes later."

Mark sat down on the grass and did as he was told. Afternoon slowly changed into evening as he watched.

He felt powerless and useless. Maple had made massive strides in increasing her abilities, but what had he done?

He hated this. There was nothing he could do but watch Maple get slashed and stabbed and healed again. Aurum had told him not to worry about winning, but that wasn't at all evident in his training methods. Katana showed no mercy and only Maple's naturally strong defenses helped to keep her in the fight.

The two fought tirelessly. Maple could do no better than nick Katana on very rare occasions where her guard was down. On the other hand, Katana still hit Maple fairly often. What was she doing wrong?

What seemed like oddities at first gradually made more sense as Mark watched. For example, there was the slightest hesitation before Katana used Night Slash as she gathered the energy needed. It was only momentary, but it was a spot of weakness. Maple had nicked her once or twice while she did it. Other quirks became apparent, as well, like how Maple began overcompensating for her weak right side and let her guard slip up on her normally dominant left side. But Katana was less forgiving than Maple and she usually suffered dearly for her shortcomings.

It was around the fifth time Katana had ripped into Maple's side that he started to realize something. They weren't going to be ready. No matter how much Maple trained or how many more quirks Mark noticed, it wouldn't be enough to defeat three human Pokémon. Two maybe…but three was out of the question.

He had to think. What could they possibly do? Unless there was an even higher Red state, Mark doubted that there was any hope. It was just him and Maple. The two of them alone against the entire tournament. Fighting the Four was laughable.

After all that they had gone through in such a short time, would it really all be for nothing? Should they have given up a long time ago? No, they couldn't back down. And it wasn't just because Maple thought she had to fight. Mark wanted it to. Despite all of his fears he still needed to fight. They had come too far and gone through too much to just run away.

But what could he do?

Frustrated, Mark leaned back in the grass. The Pokéballs attached to his belt brushed against the ground. Looking down at them, an odd thought occurred to him.

Maybe they weren't as alone as he thought they were.

* * *

><p>AN: so, four new characters...and they're all crazy...<p>

i had to watch myself with Cerberus's dialog. he's vulgar alright, but he was worse when i first wrote it.

so, let's see...oh, yes. zzzp2 asked some questions that i wanted to answer for everybody. first of all, Maple might seem kinda weak because she's only been a human Pokemon for a short time. she was strong as a Leafeon, and that's carried over, but she still has some catching up to do to reach the veterans like Cascade and Coraline. the Red State gives something like a 10-level boost. it doesn't make her invincible, but it's a big help. oh, and the Blastoise-guy just sucked, plain and simple.

anyway, that's it! thanks for reading and cya next time!


	28. Fear and Respect

Chapter 27

The boy hated his mother.

He was barely ten years old, but he knew very confidently that the bitter, angry, hurt feeling he had in his heart was hatred.

"Mom," he called out to her as she sat on their couch, "mom. Mom! MOM!" She didn't respond. That was nothing new. Tristan's mother had done this countless times. So, it didn't come as a surprise when she continued staring across the room.

She was depressed, again. This happened often and it always happened for the same reason. All of their money was gone; lost in the slots at the Rocket Game Corner…again.

What would she do to make rent this time? How many willing friends and family members remained to lend her the money she needed?

Whatever happened, she might get herself back on track for a short period. Maybe even save a little money. But after just two months, like clockwork, she would return to the Game Corner to do what she always did and lose it all.

This had been happening for as long as Tristan could remember. Ever since his father had abandoned them. His mother had simply broken down and just started pouring coin after coin into those machines. What was she doing? Hoping for a big break that would never come? Or did she just want to have some kind of hope to hold onto no matter how foolish it was?

Tristan just wondered why Child Services hadn't come to save him from this vicious circle. He did everything for her. He cooked, he cleaned, and he tried to cheer her up when she spiraled into these depressive states. He was strong, he knew that, but he also knew that he was only ten. It shouldn't have been his job. It shouldn't have been his life.

He didn't love his mother. He hated her.

That was why, as he watched his mother stare off into nothing, he decided to walk out of their decaying one-bedroom apartment and never come back.

Weeks passed as he learned how to live on the streets of Celadon. Most of the city was beautiful. The flashing lights of the Rocket Game Corner, the tall buildings, with the Celadon Department Store among them, and even the serene grass-type Pokémon Gym all had their place in Celadon. Unfortunately, so did the slums with their crime and suffocating atmosphere of depravity. But no one ever talked about that side of Celadon.

The streets made him far tougher than what his neglectful mother ever could have. Tristan had it rough at home, sure, but it didn't compare to having to endure the outside. He knew it well enough to know where to go, what to avoid and, most importantly, who to avoid. But he couldn't keep living that life, either. He deserved better than that.

That was when he started thinking about stealing a Pokémon.

Most kids were just given Pokémon. Tristan didn't have that luxury. To get one, you needed to be at least thirteen with eight years of schooling and, of course, have a guardian willing to sign the appropriate paperwork. Tristan had neither. He had heard that some places lowered the age to as little as ten, Tristan's current age, but Celadon firmly believed in the thirteen-rule. Even if he had stuck around home until he was of age, he doubted that his mother would let him go. She needed him, and she probably knew it. He didn't know what he was condemning her to by leaving, but he was convinced that he needed to save himself or he would go down with her.

The boy had ventured into the rich shopping districts of Celadon plenty of times. The food in the trash was better than most meals he had been eating his entire life. And Pokémon were everywhere over there.

In the slums, there was nothing but Rattata, Grimer or other common, disgusting, disease carrying Pokémon. Maybe, once, they had been proud, strong Pokémon that lived happily in the fields, but the city had twisted them into something vile. A trainer would have to be insane to think about wanting to catch one.

There was only one option available to Tristan. It was an option that he didn't need to think very hard about. After all, he was tougher than that. Why should he worry about getting caught and punished after everything he had already seen? What, in all truth, did he have to lose?

He followed a kid home from school. Well, not all of the way home. He pulled the kid off the street and beat him. The kid was a year older than him, but Tristan was twice as tough. He pounded the kid over and over again and screamed in his face to hand over one of his Pokémon. The image of the kid's bruised and bloodied face was carved into Tristan's mind. No matter how long it had been, that image stayed there, reminding him of what he had done.

But, in the end, the kid handed over a Pokéball and Tristan ran. He never stopped to make sure the kid would be okay.

Tristan took the Pokéball back to the slums, back to the empty apartment where he had slept the past two nights. It was at least five times more decayed and bug-infested than the apartment he shared with his mother, but at least it was indoors. Tristan just considered himself lucky to find one where they didn't bother to lock the door.

There was a chance that the tenants would be showing the place to somebody during the daylight, but he would have to take the risk. He needed privacy. Clutching the Pokéball as though it was the most precious and fragile thing he had ever seen, he closed and locked the door to the empty apartment.

He popped the Pokéball open and a white light appeared and took the shape of a Houndour. It looked at Tristan with wide, confused eyes, as if to say, "You're not my master." But it didn't seem to mind too much and after a second, its tongue lolled out of its mouth and it approached Tristan and began to sniff at him, experimentally. When it finished, it began exploring the area, whimpering as it did so.

The boy regarded the Pokémon in front of him with a cold, calculating gaze. A Houndour. Not bad, considering what he could've gotten. It could've been a useless fish or a bug Pokémon, but it wasn't. Not bad, at all.

But there was something wrong with it. Tristan knew enough about Pokémon to know that Houndour never acted like this. Houndour were vicious and nasty, even as far as un-evolved Pokémon usually went. This one was docile. It had been pampered and babied by its owner. It was a pet, not the fighter that Tristan wanted. It wasn't what he felt like he needed.

He watched it explore the apartment, sniffing at the walls and whining for its true owner. A millipede crawled across the wall and the Houndour yipped in fright, backing away. It approached the bug to sniff at it, but it ran away, across the room when the revolting thing scurried away.

Tristan couldn't believe it. This thing in front of him had grown much too soft under its old master. It came from a padded life of spoiled luxury, just like its trainer. It didn't know how to fight. It didn't know how tough and powerful it could become.

But Tristan was willing to teach it.

He didn't use a weapon, but he held nothing back when he beat it. He punched and kicked at the Houndour, beating it down and ignoring its terrified whimpering and whining. Never once did it fight back.

Over the next few weeks, Tristan broke his new Houndour and re-shaped it into the vicious killer he wanted it to be. He had no use for a complacent, tame, dopey-eyed puppy. He wanted his first Pokémon to be as tough and dangerous as he was.

And that was exactly what Cerberus became.

Fear and respect earned Tristan what would become his strongest Pokémon. Cerberus was a Pokémon that he had never caught, but had stolen and beaten until he knew the pain that Tristan had felt for his entire life.

Two months later, Tristan left Celadon with an obedient, reliable killer at his side. He traveled from city to city, improving his abilities. He caught dozens of other Pokémon and trained them all in the same way he trained Cerberus. But not all Pokémon responded to his methods in the same way.

Cerberus had been special, maybe even grateful, on some level, for Tristan's abuse. It made him powerful and he found that having that power mattered more to him than anything he might have to endure to get it.

But Cerberus wasn't alone. Apollo and Cleo also responded well to Tristan's harsh methods. After just a few short years, the three of them were easily Tristan's most powerful Pokémon.

However, the training didn't stop. Tristan always wanted more. He demanded more, sometimes more than what his Pokémon could deliver. But they surprised him.

Through the harsh, unforgiving abuse that Tristan inflicted on his Pokémon, he stumbled onto the gateway to even more power.

Cerberus was the first to evolve into a human Pokémon. He was violent and dangerous beyond comparison. Tristan couldn't have been happier.

His first human Pokémon had a stronger sense of independence than what he possessed as a Houndoom, but Tristan compensated for it with the appropriate amount of force. Cerberus' already high level of fear and respect for Tristan aided tremendously in keeping him in line. But if one could make the jump from Pokémon to human, why not others?

The beatings were the worst when Tristan was trying to force Apollo and Cleo to evolve. It took weeks, but they both evolved. Whether it was because they had finally become strong enough, or simply because they wanted the pain to end, none of them knew for certain.

The only thing that was certain was the fear and respect that Tristan commanded from them. It was the same kind of fear and respect that followed him everywhere. No one on Himitsu Island knew what they were going to do next. And Tristan liked it that way.

* * *

><p>On the far side of Mount Totetsu, the mountain that covered a third of Himitsu Island, a small sandstorm raged. It was localized in an area that was no more than a few acres. Sand, dust and dirt spun in a cyclone around a central point in an almost perfect sphere. At the center of the sphere sat EdgeoftheEarth and three of his human Pokémon. Gathered amongst them were a human Lucario, Torterra, and Tyranitar.<p>

The sandstorm emanated from the mild-mannered Tyranitar, which Edge had named Tyrant, in the center of the maelstrom. Gruff and grumpy Panzer, the Torterra, and Pulse, the often loud and obnoxious Lucario, rounded out the group of young men. All three of the human Pokémon sat in the sandstorm without worry or difficulty. To some extent, it made them more comfortable.

To protect himself from the sandstorm, unwillingly created by his Tyranitar, Edge wore a pair of goggles that he had made himself. As far as protecting his body went, well, Edge didn't mind. Long ago, he had decided to view it as training. Some people meditated under waterfalls or by standing on hot coals. Edge sat in a sandstorm.

"Gin," he declared through his crooked grin. He set down the seven playing cards he had in his hand. He cracked his knuckles and leaned back. After realization sank in, Panzer and Pulse threw down their own cards and began swearing and accusing Edge of cheating in a remarkably good-natured manner.

"Damn you," Panzer growled, gathering up the cards, since it would be his turn to shuffle. The human Torterra was dressed in a pair of dark brown army pants, boots and a brown t-shirt. His shirts had to be custom-made to fit around the highly inconvenient shell on his back, as well as the small bonsai tree growing out of it on his shoulder, "you have no idea how long I was after that card."

"I just wanna know where the ace of clubs is," Pulse began searching through the remaining cards in the deck, but it wasn't until he reached the bottom that the ace of clubs appeared, "figures. Effing figures!" The human Lucario was dressed in a dark blue jacket and jeans with a cream-colored shirt. Black gloves, boots and a headband, as well as a spiked belt completed his attire. Short triangular ears and a long, rigid tail were his souvenirs from his time as a true Lucario. He tossed his cards into the air and they scattered away into the sandstorm.

"Oh, geez," Edge grumbled without resentment, "Now, look what ya did!"

"It's okay, I'll get them," Tyrant said meekly. Edge could barely hear his small voice over the howl of the sandstorm even though he was sitting right next to him. The youngest of Edge's human Pokémon, at just eighteen, Tyrant was a far cry from what his name suggested he should be like. He wore a dark green trench coat (that was much too big), pants and boots along with a light blue t-shirt. His similarly green hair stuck out in jagged spikes and his shoulders were adorned with real ones which were as hard as diamond. The same was true for his three-foot tail.

Tyrant wasn't tall, like Pulse, or broad-shouldered like Panzer, but was just a measly 5'3" and 115 lbs. He had always been small. Even after making the jump from Larvitar to Pupitar and finally to Tyranitar he had been thin and small for his species.

Abruptly, the mutual taunting and jeering of the other three stopped. Tyrant was slow, getting to his feet. He shambled after the cards, not really in any rush to continue the game.

"Man, what is with him?" Pulse asked no one in particular when he was confident Tyrant could no longer hear him. He knew the answer, of course, they all did. But no one wanted to say it and everyone wanted to pretend that they were still having a good time.

Still, Edge had seen Tyrant act like this more than the other two. He had sat with him lots of times before and managed to get him to open up. For some reason, Tyrant only responded to Edge. It might have been from the trainer-Pokémon bond that Aurum preached about, but Edge didn't pay too much attention to stuff like that.

Tyrant slowly chased down the battered cards. They would need a new deck soon. The cards never lasted long in Tyrant's sandstorm. They would last maybe a few hours, but pretty soon there would be holes in them or the writing would be illegible. The group had long ago conceded to ignore the fact that the cards were marked just so they could play.

The two of diamonds had become wedged in between two rocks and Tyrant bent to pick it up. Two more cards. He almost didn't want to find them. If he didn't they would have to stop playing.

"'Sup?"

Edge's appearance at Tyrant's back startled him into dropping the card and it fluttered away, again.

"Ooo…" Edge said in sympathetic pain, "sorry about that."

"It's okay," Tyrant shrugged, "it's not like it's the first time." Edge was a full foot taller than him. Whenever he looked up at him he felt like he was looking at a giant or a god. He admired Edge enough that he might as well be. But he couldn't look at him, right then.

"What's wrong, man?" Edge asked.

"Nothing," Tyrant said and he pretended that he saw a card so he could jog a few paces away in hot pursuit.

"Don't give me that," Edge was right beside him. Always, no matter what. It was just the kind of person he was, "we're pals, right? You can tell me."

Tyrant sighed, how could he tell Edge what was wrong? He and the others were being so nice to him. They kept him company and didn't leave him alone. That's what friends did, right?

"Come on," Edge persisted, "holding it in's not gonna help."

"Alright," Tyrant sighed, Edge had a point, "could we stop playing for a while?"

"Huh?" Edge paused, "I thought you liked gin. It's a good game."

"Well…I mean…not play cards anymore," Tyrant tactfully sought a way to end this, but he doubted if Edge would let him.

"Okay, we can do that," Edge nodded, "what do you want to do instead? We could go grab a ball and toss it around some. Or we could play 'Would you rather…?' that's always fun."

But Tyrant shook his head, "no…I don't really want to play a game at all."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"Umm…well…" Tyrant began furiously rubbing his face with his palm in an attempt to calm himself, it failed miserably, "the thing is. I don't think we should hang out during the tournament anymore."

"How come?" Edge, on the other hand, stayed calm easily. He knew Tyrant better than anyone. Tyrant wouldn't simply put an end to their friendship, he wasn't like that. Somehow, Tyrant must be blaming himself.

"Well," Tyrant's shoulders slumped down, "you guys always spend time with me, but I can't go anywhere. I wish I could control this stupid sandstorm, but I can't! But just because I can't go into town and have fun, it doesn't mean you guys can't."

Edge's smile broadened. It was exactly what he thought. Tyrant's selflessness never ceased to amaze him.

"What'll _you_ do?" Edge asked.

"Me?" Tyrant glanced up at Edge, "I dunno…I'll think of something."

"Well, we can think of something together, then," Edge suggested.

"No, you don't understand," Tyrant sighed, "there must be something you want to do on the island. I don't want me to be the reason that you're missing out."

"There's nothing back there, for me," Edge explained, "you guys are all I have and you guys are all I need."

"Is that true, Edge?" Tyrant asked. Doubt filled his baby-blue eyes, "you don't have to be so tough all the time, you know. I mean, you can tell me, I won't mind."

"Of course it's true, little man," Edge patted Tyrant on the back.

"You mean…" Tyrant was afraid to ask, but he didn't realize he was the only one of Edge's human Pokémon that Edge would give an honest answer to, "you don't miss River?"

The disaffected-tough guy front that Edge put on melted away in an instant. His eyes went wide, within his goggles, and he gritted his teeth causing the smile to vanish. For just a few seconds, Edge didn't need to say anything for Tyrant to learn everything.

But then it was gone, and the normal face of EdgeoftheEarth was back.

Still, Edge couldn't lie to Tyrant. He was his strongest human Pokémon and his first. Those were bonds that Edge did believe in. Edge and Tyrant were brothers, the way Edge and Sky used to be.

"You're right," Edge nodded, "I do miss her. And I do want to see her."

"Then why don't you?"

"She doesn't want to see me," Edge closed his eyes, "not now…maybe never."

Tyrant didn't know what to say. He could tell him to go and see her, but Edge would just refuse again. He had felt like he was trapping Edge and the others here, but that wasn't what he was doing at all. Edge wanted to be with him because there was nowhere else to go.

"I'm sorry," Tyrant took a deep breath and tried to be stronger for Edge. Edge shouldn't have to bear everything by himself.

"Hey, it's no big deal," the smile was back on Edge's face, "it's her loss, right? Come on, let's find those cards and get playing again."

Edge turned and started walking through the sandstorm in search of the wayward cards.

"Sure," Tyrant whispered before he also resumed looking. However, he was more serious this time.

* * *

><p>AN: both of these sections i wrote once. then, as i thought about them i came up with better ways to do them and completely redid them from scratch. The only other section that gets that honor (so far) is the prologue. which I rewrote about four or five times and I'm still not totally happy with it.<p>

guess that's everything, for now. thanks for reading!


	29. We Do This Together: Part 1

Chapter 28

Katana watched the backs of Mark and Maple as they left the lake, heading back towards the city. It was nearly midnight and the half moon overhead provided the only light. The Leafeon-girl had been completely exhausted hours ago, but she pushed herself through the pain and the fatigue. It was the last chance they had, after all.

"What do you think, master?" Katana asked Aurum, who was gathering up their gear, including nearly thirty discarded potion bottles, "can they win?"

The old man didn't answer, right away. He thought carefully, weighing their strengths and weaknesses. They were stronger, Aurum had made that possible, but he was far from finished with them. Whether they won or lost was of little concern to Aurum. He would continue training them either way.

"It doesn't matter," Aurum admitted, "that's up to them. We've done all we can."

"I know," Katana shrugged, "still…I think I do _want_ them to win."

"Oh?" Aurum stopped what he was doing to peer at Katana through the half-light of the moon, "looking for a new rival?"

"Hardly," Katana smirked, "she's good, but she's no Tempest. Not by a long shot."

"Then why?"

"I don't know…" Katana considered, "I don't see why I should be worried."

"You care about them," Aurum pointed out.

"Well, sure, but…" Katana shook her head, "it feels like I should be out there with them."

"You can't," Aurum said sternly, "I forbid it. Not because you're my follower. But they need to do it themselves. If you help them now, then everything they've worked for won't mean anything. Win together or lose together, it doesn't matter which. As long as they do it together."

"Right…" Katana nodded, her thoughts already far away, "I wish _we_ had stayed together."

"It couldn't be helped," Aurum said much too fast.

"I wonder…" Katana had lost too many friends to let the matter drop easily, "master, is it too late to go back? I know you miss them, too. Couldn't we at least see them, again?"

"We will," Aurum said, "but only when they're ready."

Katana nodded. She followed Aurum back through the Kieru Forest, electing to stay outside of her Pokéball for a bit longer. She hoped that he was right. About everything.

* * *

><p>Mark paced the empty locker room of the Himitsu Island stadium. Maple was concealed inside her Pokéball. That had taken quite a bit of convincing, but it was standard practice for all human Pokémon to start the match inside their Pokéballs.<p>

But it was very unsettling for Maple to not be at his side. More than ever, he wanted her to be right next to him and encourage him. The plan would work, had to work. He had to keep telling himself, afraid that if he didn't, the magic of it would be lost. It had been a brilliant idea the day before, but here in the quiet, sterile loneliness of the locker room, he really wanted Maple to reassure him.

He wanted to tell himself that there was nothing more to worry about, both he and Maple would be strong enough or they wouldn't. The time for preparation was gone. Still, he couldn't sit still.

Of course, why should he be so worried? Maple was the one that was going to do all of the fighting, after all. And she was locked inside the Pokéball that she hated and was just as alone as he was. What was she going through?

Mark jumped when the stadium attendant finally appeared to let him know that it was time. He followed the attendant to the door leading to the field. Light poured in from outside, illuminating the dark stadium interior. Mark hesitated, taking a few deep breaths and wringing his hands, before stepping through the light onto the field.

Squinting against the bright sun, he looked around at the packed stadium. The field had been repaired since Aurum's match. The trench and the gaping holes in the ground were gone. The grass was even full and vibrant. However, Mark didn't have time to wonder about how. Besides, how the field looked was the last thing on his mind.

The cheers that he remembered when Aurum took to the field were all but non-existent. Instead, it was more of the excited whispering that had followed his fight with Alex the day before. But, to Mark's relief and delight, a few cheers sounded from the front row. There sat Kim, Volt, Billow, Flurry and Ian all clapping and cheering. Ian whistled loud enough to disturb the dozing Aurum sitting next to him. Katana sat next to her master, silent, but eager to watch Maple, her new apprentice, test her skill. Mark smiled and waved as he made his way toward the center of the field.

He had friends and they were cheering for him. For a few moments, he forgot all of the uncertainty and all of the pain that he and Maple had endured to get to this point. What did it matter next to the feeling that they gave him?

Ian's whistling was drowned out in a mixture of cheering and booing as Tristan entered from the opposite side of the stadium. Obviously, Tristan had a mixed reputation with the other human Pokémon trainers. Mark had met him for just a brief moment, but it had been enough. Tristan was not a normal trainer. He wondered what it was about Tristan that made him so unstable.

Tristan paid no attention to the crowd as he entered. His gaze remained fixed on Mark as the two trainers came to the center of the stadium to shake hands.

Mark hated that look. He felt like he remembered it, but he couldn't place it. Images and faces from his childhood came to mind. Childish bullying, perhaps? But thinking about it got him nowhere. It was something that he had forgotten…or chose not to remember.

"Ah, you again," Tristan grinned as he crushed Mark's hand in his death-grip, "I thought I remembered hearing your name somewhere before. So, all you've got is that Leafeon…"

"That's how it looks," Mark said, guarding his secret without outright lying.

"Haha, I like you," Tristan squeezed just a little bit harder before releasing, "you get what all this is about. You gotta stay in charge and stay in control. Otherwise people will come from all over to take it away from you."

"Right…" Mark answered, ignoring the pain throbbing in his hand.

"Anyway," Tristan turned towards the red platform, "make this last a while, would you? My gang's been waiting a long time for this. I don't want to disappoint them."

Mark didn't bother responding, but just walked towards the green platform. He went over the plan again. If the Persian came first, then Maple could take her. If not…

_Well, sure it's_ _legal_, Mark remembered what Kim had told him, _it's just that nobody's ever done it. It's basically suicide._

Suicide or not, Mark didn't have any other options. And who knew? Maybe suicide was exactly what he needed to try…as crazy as that sounded.

"Welcome one and all to this year's seventh match! We've already seen six spectacular matches and now we're ready for more!" The announcer's over-enthusiastic voice boomed throughout the stadium.

"How's it going over there?" a small intercom to Mark's right crackled and he recognized Tristan's voice. It wasn't until then that Mark remembered that the platforms had speaker systems and microphones built in for the competitors to "interact" during the match. Basically, it was encouraging them to taunt each other.

"Doing just fine, Tristan," Mark replied coolly, "you ready to hit the dirt?"

"Tough words now that you're so far away," Tristan clucked his tongue, "let's get it on, then."

"Ready when you are," Mark reached down and felt for the Pokéball at his belt. Both trainers threw out their Pokéballs simultaneously.

Apollo appeared, stretching his wings out to their two-meter wingspan. He smirked at his opponent across the field and then he furrowed his brow in confusion.

Mark's Jolteon stood in the spot where Apollo had expected to see the Leafeon-girl.

"You screwin' with me, man?" Tristan was just as confused as his human Swellow.

"It's not illegal," Mark smirked, "the rules don't forbid the use of regular Pokémon. Come on, Tristan. Or are you afraid?"

"You're crazy, man," Mark could practically hear him shaking his head, "whatever. Take it down, Apollo, Brave Bird."

"Thunderbolt!" Mark commanded. Apollo shot into the air, quickly rising a few meters off the ground. Pointing his head forward, he launched himself at the Jolteon as it built up energy for the attack. Apollo closed the distance in moments, slamming into the Jolteon, but it was just a little too slow and Jitter managed to hit Apollo before it dropped.

Yellow streams of electricity arced out of Jitter's body and surged into the human Swellow. Apollo gritted his teeth against the pain, but still flew straight. He connected with the Jolteon, slamming his shoulder into its side. After it was done, he dropped to the ground as the remnants of the Thunderbolt dispersed. He glared up at the trainer on the green platform. Below him, Jitter had fainted, collapsing onto the grass, and would fight no more.

"Good job," Mark recalled Jitter. It was over quick, but it had gone better than expected. Jitter had been lucky to get off an attack, and despite the fact that Apollo didn't appear badly hurt, Mark knew that every little bit helped. If the human Swellow went down, then they stood a chance.

_Brave Bird_, Mark thought, _good_. He thought about the attack that Apollo had used. It was a powerful attack that many bird Pokémon possessed. The user launched themselves at their target at blindingly fast speeds and rammed into it at full force. The resulting impact did excellent damage, but the user paid the price as well, taking a small amount of damage, in the process.

_Four more Pokémon, before Maple._

"Eclipse," Maple's older brother took to the field. If Jitter had been fast enough to inflict some damage, then just maybe Eclipse would be tough enough to survive a hit.

"Please, man, this is pointless. Brave Bird, again," Tristan ordered. Apollo flapped his wings, taking to the air just a tiny bit slower this time.

"Toxic," Mark instructed.

Once again, Apollo slammed into his target at full speed. The close range made the attack devastatingly effective.

But Eclipse managed to stay on his feet and he countered by spitting a globule of purple liquid at Apollo. The goo hit him directly in the chest and soaked through his shirt. He stared at it in disgust, not realizing that the poison was already taking effect.

"Dammit, Apollo! Finish the stupid thing!" Tristan roared.

Mark didn't bother with an order, since it was already over. But Eclipse had done his job and Mark wasn't the least bit surprised when he had to recall his Umbreon.

Apollo possessed so much power. The gap between the regular Pokémon and the human ones was overwhelming. Still, Mark took great pride in raising his Pokémon. They were strong, and as long as he used them right they could beat Apollo.

"Hercules," Mark called out his Heracross. Against a bird Pokémon a Heracross would just be a kamikaze. Mark would have to repay him somehow. But right then, he needed Hercules' strength, even if all he could do was bait Apollo into defeating himself.

Another Brave Bird hit and Hercules tumbled over backward. He slammed into the base of Mark's platform before fainting. He never even got an attack off.

But that was when the first sign of victory appeared. Once Mark recalled Hercules, he looked down and saw Apollo cough up a mouthful of blood and groan as the poison grew stronger.

"Son of a…" Apollo groaned, gripping his stomach, "boss, what's going on?"

"How should I know?" his trainer responded, "just keep taking 'em down. You're doing great."

_Hardly_, Mark thought. True, three of his Pokémon were already gone, but the plan to defeat Tristan was already going extremely well. Everything would add up. The poison from Toxic was building strength, the damage from Apollo's Brave Birds went right back at him and Jitter had even scored a real hit.

Still, Mark wasn't stupid enough to count on his regular Pokémon to win the entire match. They just needed to take out one. If Apollo went down, the stage would be set. Maple could defeat two, but it was up to Mark to get everything ready.

Two more Pokémon before he had to rely on Maple. The least he could do was make sure that she only had to fight two. His Pokémon were dropping like flies in the face of power like this, but he was making progress. Five on one, if Mark could do that, then there was still hope.

"Tanker," Mark's Donphan was the next out. _He's hurting…just a little bit more_.

Apollo was becoming more and more sluggish whenever he took to the air and came down again. Normally, he'd probably stay in the air for an entire match, but he was too weak and he needed rest in between attacks.

"Ice Shard," Mark ordered. No matter how fast Apollo was, an Ice Shard should get there first. Shot from Tanker's tusks, the sharpened ice-dagger caught Apollo's wing and he lost his balance. Nevertheless, he hit his mark, right in between Tanker's tusks and the expertly aimed attack made the Donphan go down.

_Last one_, Mark thought. He looked down at Apollo. The human Swellow looked positively miserable. He was groaning and clutching his stomach as the poison grew even stronger. He coughed up another mouthful of blood and he barely had the energy to wipe it off of his mouth. _I think we got him_. Mark couldn't help but smile.

"Volcano," Mark's last Pokémon, before Maple, appeared on the field, roaring defiantly at the human Swellow.

"End this shit," Tristan commanded, "Brave Bird, now."

"Mach Punch," Mark almost felt sorry for Apollo when Volcano shot forward and punched him squarely in the jaw. Careening backwards, Apollo tried to flap his wings, but he was too weak to get into the air. Coughing up another mouthful of blood, he tottered forward and fell on the ground, unconscious. Volcano screeched in triumph as the red light claimed Apollo.

_That's one_, Mark thought, _now, who's next?_

"Cleopatra," Tristan said, dropping the Pokéball with the human Persian inside. She appeared across the field, stretching and meowing.

"Mach Punch," Mark commanded. It would be Volcano's last attack, but Mark just wanted it to hit. He had already accomplished more than what he thought he would. Everything was in place for Maple to finish the job.

"Fake Out," the Infernape was fast, but he was nothing compared to the blur of the human Persian as she launched across the field. The two met halfway, but Cleo was the only one that hit. She slapped Volcano across the face, dazing the Infernape for a few seconds. A moment later, without waiting for an order, Cleo flexed her hand. It was replaced with a cat-like paw and three-inch long claws extended from the ends. Her Slash attack raked across the Infernape and he was finished.

Mark recalled Volcano.

Had it really been enough? Mark still didn't want to throw Maple into this fight. It had taken five of Mark's best Pokémon to take down just one opponent. But there wasn't anything more he could do on his own. He needed Maple, now.

He needed her and she would need him. They only stood a chance if they were together. Since coming to Himitsu Island, he had learned that much. Now was the time to see if it was enough.

"Maple."

* * *

><p>AN: so that's part 1 of this fight.<p>

Yep…that's it…

thanks for reading!


	30. We Do This Together: Part 2

Chapter 29

The bright morning sun washed over Maple as she stood on the stadium field. She took her time looking around the arena. She almost couldn't believe that she was standing there, ready for her fight. And Mark was right behind her.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes," she smiled and nodded. She looked across the field at her opponent. Cleo was in the middle of the field, sneering at Maple, ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Maple waved to her.

"You finally ready to take this seriously?" Tristan's voice crackled next to Mark.

"If you didn't notice, you've lost one already," Mark pointed out.

"I don't need him," Tristan replied without sympathy, "he was weak to lose to just regular Pokémon."

Tristan didn't care one bit. His Pokémon were tools, nothing more. Mark found it baffling. Why would they want to evolve for such a person? Were they just like him? Was the power all that mattered?

Mark looked down at Maple, on the field. She was rocking back and forth on her heels and humming. He smiled, even though her back was turned. She was about to fight two very tough opponents. She would undoubtedly get hurt and even with all of the preparation, she could still lose. But she trusted him to guide her to a win.

It was that trust that gave Mark strength. He didn't use fear or intimidation to gain Maple's trust. He didn't feel like he _used_ anything. They trusted one another for reasons that neither of them fully understood.

Did he love Maple? Probably…well, maybe. Honestly, he still didn't know for sure. But he did know that he cared about her. This fight would show him what that meant.

He felt sorry for Tristan's allies. They weren't really allies to him. Mark had witnessed him beating them into obedience. Tristan didn't treat them like humans. He didn't even treat them like animals. Apollo, Cleo and Cerberus were less than that to him.

Mark had also seen how twisted the three of them had become under Tristan's command. All of them were dangerous and violent. They were strong, but what price had they paid to achieve it? Could their lives have turned out differently if they never had to suffer under Tristan?

But those were questions that he couldn't answer. Every human Pokémon was different. He could only guess what drove them all into a life like theirs. And if there was a way to help them, Mark didn't know what it was.

"We're ready when you are," Mark said.

"Good," Tristan called back, "Aerial Ace."

Mark's eyes widened at the unexpected choice.

Cleo dashed forward and bounded into the air. Screeching a battle cry, she put her claws out in front of her as if to pounce directly on top of Maple.

Maple blinked once and the Red State was hers to command.

But it wasn't enough. The fast and carefully aimed Aerial Ace was an ability usually reserved for flying Pokémon. Slashing downward and then upward, Maple was knocked back as Cleo's claws dug into her. But without the traits of a flying Pokémon to aid her, Cleo would always be incapable of fully mastering the attack. Despite the pain that ached in Maple's body, no wound appeared on her.

"Maple, Swords Dance," Mark said. Surprised as he was by Cleo's ability, there was no time to rethink his strategy. Maple would be okay. She was tougher than that, after all.

Bounding backwards to put some extra distance between herself and Cleo, Maple concentrated for the Swords Dance. She closed her eyes and a ring of ten phantom swords appeared in a circle around her. After a moment, they began to rotate rapidly around her. Maple opened her eyes and grabbed two of the swords. She struck them together over her head and again close to the ground, sparks flew off as she did so. Then, she released her grip and the swords all vanished simultaneously.

More of a ritual than an attack, Swords Dance was an ability used to heighten the offensive capabilities of the Pokémon using it. It sharpened the senses, honed abilities and mentally focused the user. With it added to the Red state, Maple would easily be able to defeat Cleo in a single attack.

Ultimately, it wasn't Cleo that Mark was worried about. Cerberus, the human Houndoom, still posed the greatest threat. With his fire-type nature, he possessed a natural advantage over Maple. That meant that Mark and Maple needed to use any advantages of their own in order to win. The best way to proceed was to use the time they had carefully.

"Close in and Slash!" Tristan showed no mercy and Cleo darted forward. The Swords Dance had barely ended when the human Persian was already on top of Maple. Unable to dodge in time, Maple held up her arm to ward away the attack.

Cleo's claws ripped into Maple. Blood squirted out and Maple shrieked as four slash marks appeared on her arm.

"Die, you bitch!" Cleo hissed, grinning that she had finally gotten the girl to spill blood. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Maple withdrew her arm and jumped over Cleo's head to dodge the next Slash.

"After her! Aerial Ace!" Tristan's voice pulsed with excitement. Victory was close enough to taste. This was supposed to be this boy's strongest and she hadn't even attacked yet! He wasn't even going to give her the opportunity.

"Maple, Synthesis!" Mark called. This was bad. Maple needed to put some distance between herself and Cleo, otherwise she could just press the attack and wait for Maple to just run out of energy.

Closing her eyes and folding her hands together, Maple concentrated. Her body began to glow with a pale green light. The sun beamed down on her and filled her with its warmth. It spread through her body, easing her pain. The wounds on her arm closed up as the grass-based healing technique repaired the damage done.

But Cleo's claws raked into her again. Knocking her to the ground, Cleo stood over the girl, grinning. A new set of bloody claw marks had appeared on Maple's right shoulder.

"Dammit…" Mark cursed. Synthesis had been a waste of time. Maple couldn't dodge and heal at the same time, it would be asking too much. As powerful as the Red state was, it couldn't help in situations like that. Then there was no other choice. They would have to go on. Maple would have to fight through the pain.

"We don't have any other choice, Leaf Blade!" Mark called out.

Cleo never even saw Maple move.

The last she remembered, the girl was still on the ground, vaguely clutching at her wounded shoulder. Then pain exploded in Cleo's chest and a deep slash mark ran from her left shoulder down to her right hip. Blood sprayed out and she crumpled to the ground. She looked up to see the Leafeon-girl standing over her, the sun shining behind her. She flicked her tail to get the blood off of it.

"Sorry," Maple apologized.

"Bitch," Cleo cursed and then passed out.

The crowd gasped in awe of Maple's power. Never before had a human Pokemon displayed such power without the guidance of one of the Four. The Leafeon-girl and her trainer were really something special.

A few cheers sounded throughout the stadium. A trainer with a single human Pokémon was taking on the entire tournament and was winning. The skill of the trainer combined with the strength of his Pokémon. That was what a Pokémon battle was all about. And they were watching one of the strongest pairs in existence.

"Cerberus!" the intimidating presence of the human Houndoom filled the stadium. He flashed his sharp, canine grin, more than happy that it was his task to finish Maple. Looking her up and down; he eyed her as if she were a rare piece of steak.

"Awesome," he chuckled, "miss me?"

Maple's big, brown eyes widened and she took a few involuntary steps back. Could she really beat him? Was she ready for this?

"Maple," Mark's calm voice steadied her immediately, "I'm here. We can do this. Just stay focused and it'll be over soon." Maple smiled and nodded, before turning back to face her opponent.

"When you're ready, Tristan," Mark said, lowering his head to the speaker. There was no more room for worry. Everything they needed was in place. Either it would work and they would win, or it wouldn't and they would fail. It would all come down to this moment.

_Just please let it work_, Mark thought.

"Flamethrower," Tristan commanded. Cerberus opened his mouth and spat a stream of red and orange flames directly at Maple. She rolled out of the way as it shot past her and dissipated. There was just enough time to look up and see Cerberus's canine-grin before he shot another stream of fire and Maple rolled back again.

"I love that spunk of yours," Cerberus chuckled at Maple and he began to stride forward, "I bet you're a screamer, aren't you?"

_Dammit_, Mark cursed in his head, _he's not in her range yet! Come on, you pompous bastard! Come here!_

"Why follow that little bitch around?" Cerberus jerked his head at Mark, "he's nothing special. Come on, I'll treat you nice." Another Flamethrower shot from his mouth.

Dodging was quickly becoming more difficult as the distance between Maple and Cerberus lessened. The Red state made it all possible. Without the power boost it gave her she would've been scorched by the flames long ago. Also, Cerberus needed hardly any recharge time. He could fire Flamethrowers within just a few seconds of each other. He was strong and he was fast. Maple was having trouble keeping ahead of him.

But Mark had explained the plan very carefully. They had to wait until the perfect moment. If they didn't use surprise then they might not get a second chance. Cerberus and Tristan were not going to forgive any mistakes that they made. No matter what, Maple had to wait until Cerberus was within her range. She couldn't run or even back up very much. Just a few more yards…

"See, I thought you'd put up more of a fight than this," Cerberus shook his head, but continued walking forward, "why don't you just roll over and give up? I'll be gentle, I promise. Well, sorta." He grinned again before opening his mouth for another attack.

"Maple, now!" Mark screamed, "DIG!"

"Huh?" Cerberus stopped mid-attack and realized what was coming.

Maple jumped into the air and put her hands in front of her, as if to dive into the earth. A moment later, it appeared as though she had done exactly that. A single hole in the ground marked the spot where she had been standing only moments before. But she was already moving through the ground. Moving straight towards her target.

"The hell?" Cerberus swore, anger and frustration welled up as his confidence left him, "where'd you go, you stupid little bitch?" His glowing orange-red eyes darted everywhere, looking for any sign of the girl.

Mark held his breath. Afraid to jinx their victory, he refused to congratulate himself. Everything had gone according to plan, but something could still go wrong. If Tristan or Cerberus realized what had happened and Cerberus could evade or, worse yet, use a technique as simple as Protect, the fight would turn around very quickly. If that happened, Mark didn't think they would be the victors this day.

The few seconds where Maple was underground and out of sight felt like hours, even days. His heart pounded in his chest as he waited.

"Shit," Tristan's horrified voice came across the speaker, "CERBERUS! GET-"

But it was over, Mark and Maple had won.

Maple burst from the ground, directly beneath Cerberus's feet. Double-fisted, she punched him squarely in the jaw, lifting him upward another five meters. He landed in a heap, battered and coughing up blood. Maple landed lightly by his side.

"Damn you…" Cerberus struggled to stand, but it was no use. The pain was far too intense and the world was quickly losing focus.

Maple panted as he looked down at him. Even battered and hurt on the ground, he still scared her. It had been a good hit. The sensation running through her as she did it confirmed that. Still, this had been the most dangerous opponent she had ever faced. Even in his defeat he scared her.

Cerberus blinked a few times. He struggled to stay awake. He couldn't lose to a little girl like her. He had suffered through too much. But it wasn't enough. And he realized that he didn't care. Just before the world went dark, he grinned and snorted laughter, "I think I like you more, now."

He passed out and the battle was over.

* * *

><p>"An unbelievable upset!" the announcer's voice echoed throughout the stadium, "Mark Diamond, the only trainer to enter with a single human Pokémon has just claimed his first victory!"<p>

Cerberus faded from the field, leaving Maple alone. Although she was out of breath and her shoulder still ached and bled, she stared at the spot where Cerberus had fallen. A smile spread across her face. It was over, they had won.

She folded her hands again, and let Synthesis ease her pain. The wound on her shoulder closed up, leaving only red streaks behind. When she finished, she looked back and saw Mark racing towards her.

The two held each other in the center of the stadium and the world melted away until they were the only two left. They had won. Through everything that they had fought and endured, they had won.

Mark pulled back so he could see Maple's face. Tears of joy were welling up in her big, gentle, brown eyes. Mark ran his hand through her hair, temporarily smoothing back the tuft of green hair, but it sprang back the instant his hand was gone.

That was when he realized something strange was happening.

All around them, the stadium had erupted into cheering.

"What the…?" Mark gaped at the crowd. Were they cheering for him and Maple? How could that be true?

He noticed that Ian, Billow, Kim, Volt and Flurry were running towards them. Ian beat the others and began recounting the battle, complete with overdramatic hand-motions and sound effects. Billow was next and she did more of the same. The two small voices clashed creating a whirlwind of excited chatter that didn't make any sense.

"So, how does it feel to be a celebrity?" Kim smirked and Mark could barely hear her over the crowd and the two kids.

"A celebrity?" Mark asked.

"You never realized it?" Kim's grin widened, "think about it. Most of the people in those stands are exactly like you. Most of them have one human Pokémon, if that. You just took down three impossibly hard opponents with nothing more than five normal Pokémon and just one human Pokémon. Pretty inspiring stuff, if you ask me."

Mark looked around the stadium, again. Disbelief marked his face.

"I didn't realize that's what I was doing…" he said, "I just did it for Maple." He looked back at the girl in his arms and she beamed at him.

"Hey, cut that out," Kim teased, "you're too damned cute."

* * *

><p>AN: another extreme happiness chapter! yay!<p>

so, that's Maple's full move-set: Leaf Blade, Synthesis, Swords Dance and Dig. i thought about giving her Razor Leaf for a distance attack, but i definitely didn't want her to have two grass attacking moves and Dig fit the bill for a wildcard move to make the fight more interesting.

hope you've enjoyed the ride so far, and thanks for reading!


	31. The Girl Without a Name

Chapter 30

The girl didn't have a name. At least, nobody had given her one. So, her name, as far as she knew, was still Charmander.

For the most part, that was okay with her. She didn't really think that she needed a name more special than Charmander. After all, it was what Master Vince called her. Master Vince was the greatest master a Pokémon could know. She was his first Pokémon and he was her first trainer.

The Charmander-girl was dressed in a two-sizes-too-big tan jumper with a white button-up short-sleeved shirt. Her reddish-orange hair matched the color of her lizard-scaled tail. No matter how bright her emerald eyes appeared they were always a little dim compared to the brightness of the fire burning at the tip of her tail.

One of the nice scientists had told her that she was about ten years old in human years. However, she wasn't exactly sure how long she had been a girl. Master Vince brought her to a different building about a week or two after she had evolved. After that, she had been bounced around from place to place and they all just seemed to blend together.

She had been in this particular building for about five days, now. Somebody told her that Master Vince would come to see her if she went with them without any trouble, but that was obviously a lie.

They did that a lot, the people looking after her. They lied to her and promised that Master Vince would return soon, but he never did. She probably would've stopped believing them if it weren't for the fact that she really did see him every now and then. Sometimes, after they gave her a shot or took some blood, she would see him pass by the door. He never looked in, but that was okay, she was happy just knowing he was nearby.

It was strange how Master Vince didn't come by very often. She was sure that he missed her and must be having a tough time going after his badges without her. If she were with him, she could help and they would get stronger together. And yet, here she was, waiting for him to come get her.

They didn't treat her very badly. Aside from occasionally drawing blood and giving her shots, they treated her pretty well. Then again, it was the only world she knew since evolving, so, it was hard to tell.

They just didn't like it whenever she broke out of her room, which she was becoming an expert at. It was about the only thing she could do for fun, even if she didn't get any meat with her bread and water at next meal-time, when they caught her. But it was worth it to check for Master Vince. And she always heard some interesting things whenever she got out.

"…little punk," A voice that the Charmander-girl recognized as somebody named Cal came from the big circular room below her, "he thinks he's hot shit, but he doesn't know anything about what we do. I could get five before he even gets one." The girl crept forward to peer through the slits in the ventilation shaft. She could see Cal angrily pacing the room, but he wasn't alone.

"Settle down, Cal," the second voice belonged to the man sitting at the only desk in the room, "he's just started. He's just a boy, but given time we can mold him into whatever we want him to be." The man wore a suit that was the prettiest color the Charmander-girl had ever seen. It was a deep shade of lavender.

"Oh, come on!" Cal exploded, "you got the Boss's orders! 'Keep a low profile, don't draw any attention, in and out.' The careless little bastard already has somebody on his tail. And, need I remind you, I already caught two without even a whisper following me around."

"I'm well aware of your talent, Cal," the lavender-man sighed, "but even you forget that the targets we're _really_ after are Eevee-evolutions. All others are a similar waste of time. And Lionel has a very promising lead on one."

"Sure, whatever," Cal gave up on arguing, it was pointless to try and convince Farin to pull back Lionel. That was the problem with Team Deus; nobody listened to his advice without going straight to the top. He still couldn't grasp what the hell Farin was supposed to accomplish out here. The grape bubblegum stain was just another shifty, corporate coward. God, they were everywhere…

"Just remember this, Farin," Cal said coldly, he tried to shoot Farin a piercing gaze, but he might as well be trying to stab a Ditto, "I'm not going to stick my neck out for the little brat just because you say so. And you can't afford to lose me."

Farin's broad smile never wavered. And somehow, Cal thought that was much creepier than any other reaction he could've given.

"And you can remember that I'm the one in charge, here," Farin's voice stayed steady, his calm, laid-back demeanor always helped keep him in control of any situation, "I will decide if Lionel is fit for duty or not. If you don't agree, you can speak with Darius, or perhaps you'd like Velius to take over?"

Cal's eyes widened, "no…that's alright. I'll trust you." There were very few people in Team Deus that Cal feared and the number three Darius and number two Velius were both on that list. Both of them were ruthless and unforgiving, which made them feared and respected by everyone. And the rumors that surrounded Darius…

"In any case," Farin sighed, casually ignoring Cal's reaction to his threat, "let's listen to Lionel's report. See if he's made any progress. He should be here in a few minutes."

The Charmander-girl over their heads thought about leaving for a good while. It wasn't really comfortable crouching where she was. It wasn't very interesting to watch Cal pace and Farin sort through papers, either. Still, she really wanted to see who this 'Lionel' person was.

She knew the names of almost everybody in Team Deus. She was good at remembering names and faces but she had neither for 'Lionel.'

Finally, after four very slow minutes, a buzzer sounded and Farin welcomed in a boy with wavy, blond hair. He was smiling, but Charmander instantly knew it was fake. That was another talent she had picked up. People lied around here all the time. It was good practice for her to learn who was lying and who was telling the truth. Lionel was lying with his smile.

"Come in, come in," Farin said jovially, waving his arms in a 'come closer' gesture as he did so, "how goes the hunt?"

"I'm getting closer," Lionel nodded, the lie written all over his face.

"Bullshit," Cal muttered, but made sure it was loud enough for Lionel to hear it.

"The trainer is an old friend of mine," Lionel switched to the truth, "he doesn't suspect me in the slightest. The only problem is; he's stuck to his Leafeon like glue."

"I thought you said last time that they were separated," Cal reminded Lionel, his voice filled with spite as he leaned against the wall, "you had a plan for nabbing her before the second day of the tournament even started. Am I right?" He smirked, taunting the boy in front of him.

"That's right…" Lionel admitted, hanging his head, "something went wrong, though. He slipped past me and found her again." He paused before hurriedly adding, "she's getting stronger, though! Aurum's been training them, so she should be really powerful when I grab her."

"That may be a nice side-effect," Farin spoke this time, "but if she becomes too powerful, it will be difficult to control her."

_You already have trouble controlling me_, the Charmander-girl thought, _and I haven't had a battle in months._

"Yes, I know…" Lionel nodded sheepishly.

"I'm glad you understand," Farin kept his smile broad, "then I'll give you until the end of the night to catch her."

"WHAT?"

Next to Lionel, Cal snickered. He honestly didn't think that Farin had the balls to put his foot down on Lionel. This was a nice turn of events.

"I don't want to hear any more excuses," Farin shook his head, his tone was still calm and his smile was still cemented in place, "you've already been given plenty of chances and you've already made plenty of mistakes. I'm giving you one more chance to prove that you can do this. If you can't, then Cal will take over the task. And he assures me that he _can_ do it."

"Alright," Lionel sighed, but he quickly replaced it with another fake smile, "then she'll be here by the end of the night. You can count on me!" He saluted, but it did nothing to lighten the atmosphere.

Up in the vents, the Charmander-girl felt bad for him. He was trying his best, but it just wasn't enough. Whether he was too inexperienced or too childish, he was in way over his head. How could he fix something like this in so short a time?

"You may go, now," Farin nodded.

"Thank you, sir," Lionel nodded. He left the room.

Cal counted to fifteen before speaking, "he's going to screw up, you know. This time it won't be just one Raichu kid on his tail. There'll be more next time."

"Let me worry about that," Farin replied, "you do your job and I'll do mine."

"You're too laid back about this," Cal shook his head. He hated Farin more than any of the five leaders of Team Deus. Farin was next to the lowest ranked of those five, but Cal thought he shouldn't be one at all. He commanded less respect than some people, Cal included, that were lower ranked.

"And what would you do differently?" Farin decided to indulge Cal for a little bit.

"Well, first of all, I'd pull back the kid, that's obvious," Cal explained, "that Raichu boy knows we're here, but he doesn't know where or how to get in. If we stop feeding him leads, he'll have nothing and go away."

"You fear discovery that much?"

"Of course I do!" Cal gaped at Farin's disregard for Team Deus's secrecy, "this group operates in the shadows. It's how we've stayed in operation. Those trainers up there," he pointed to the ceiling, "they may not have an organized force that can stand up to us. But if they know that we really exist and we've been taking their human Pokémon for years…look they may all just look out for themselves, but if they organize, it's over."

"I see," Farin still remained unconcerned.

"Look," Cal forced himself to calm down, "unless there's been some sort of break-through that I don't know about-"

"Classified," Farin interrupted.

"What did you say?"

"It's classified, Cal," Farin dismissed him, "no one outside of the top five is to know."

Flabbergasted, Cal stared at Farin open-mouthed for a good thirty seconds. What did they have? What was so secret that only the top five knew about it? Cal walked through every research lab that he knew about at least once a month. No one had made any progress in almost a year. What did they find?

"You may go now," Farin's voice was unusually stern, so Cal didn't argue. He left Farin alone in his office and left the room.

Still up in the vent, the Charmander-girl had heard everything, but she had no idea what it meant. It sounded interesting, but it didn't make much sense.

She realized then that she had been out of her room for much longer than she wanted to. Usually when she broke out, she stayed out until somebody caught her. Today was different, though. She wanted to check on her neighbor.

Her neighbor had been brought in two days ago with this weird looking collar thing on her neck. They could hear each other through the walls of their rooms, so they could talk. And that made it a lot less lonely.

Her name was Aroma, and she was a really pretty, human Meganium. She was very kind, too. She told Charmander stories about the outside. Mostly she talked about her trainer, Lily, and the other human Pokémon she lived with. There was Silver, a human Absol, whom Charmander suspected Aroma had a crush on. There was also Shinobi, a really strong human Ninjask.

The Charmander-girl hadn't really thought about giving herself a name until Aroma had arrived. She was so pretty and nice, and the name Aroma really fit her. She had a nice smell, too.

They thought about maybe giving Charmander a name of her own, but nothing they came up with seemed to fit. Most everything sounded way too mean or too weird. Names like Pyro, Ember, Inferno, and Flare. Even more basic human names she didn't like. None of them seemed to fit.

That was how they passed the time. Telling stories and thinking of names.

At first, Aroma didn't want to say anything, but Charmander hadn't had a neighbor in so long that she couldn't help trying to get her to talk. But it didn't take long to get Aroma to start telling stories and saying that Lily, Silver and Shinobi would come to rescue both of them very soon.

But she had heard that before. Like she said, she had other neighbors before and they all eventually gave up and stopped believing that their trainers would come back. It was sad, but she made the most of the little company she did get.

Sometimes that made her wonder if she was fooling herself waiting for Master Vince to come back. She didn't think she really needed to be rescued. After all, he had left her with Team Deus. He would be back one day, she knew, but sometimes she had to wonder if he even missed her.

His dad was in charge of Team Deus. He was a scary guy that she had only seen once or twice. But Master Vince trusted him and looked up to him, so, Charmander would too.

If Master Vince had brought her here to keep her safe then there was no better place for her.

* * *

><p>AN: thus begins the next section of the story! I should warn you that it is going to be a very, very, VEEERRRYYYY long time before we get to what that classified information was.<p>

anyways, thanks for reading!


	32. A Date with a Leafeon Girl

Chapter 31

PureBlueSky sat up in his hotel room suite, paid for by Alfred Silph, twirling a pen in his hand while simultaneously staring at the blank screen of his laptop. Right in line with Flurry's prediction, Sky hadn't left the room since the close of the opening ceremonies, now three days gone. His first match wouldn't be until the next day and he didn't particularly feel like training. Not that he needed to, his human Pokémon were already stupidly powerful and most of them trained themselves anyway.

Speaking of which, his human Pokémon had, quite naturally, left him to his own devices. Being back on Himitsu Island and having a chance to interact with the rest of the human Pokémon community would, of course, be too tempting to pass up. So, Sky was left alone with his thoughts.

He wasn't always totally alone. Flurry and Ian stopped in every now and then, mostly to make sure he was alive. They invited him out, but after the fifth or sixth refusal, trying seemed pointless.

And of course, his nights were never lonely. Every one of his human Pokémon had to sleep in the room, no matter how much time they spent outside. The suite was built for two families of four and had all of the comforts of Sky's home in Sinnoh, plus a few extras. Gaudy was Sky's word for it.

But through all of it, and like always, Tempest was the one who stayed with him the most. She would leave to go watch matches in the stadium, or just fly around the island for a while, but otherwise she was at Sky's side.

Neither trainer nor human Salamence enjoyed speaking unnecessarily, which meant that most of the time Tempest was there, they sat in silence. Occasionally Sky wrote something and the scratching pen or the click-clack of his laptop broke the silence. But mostly they just sat there.

Twice, Sky completely forgot to order food and it was Tempest who put a plate next to him. He would stare at it for a second, then, realizing he should've eaten two hours ago, he shook his head and mumbled his thanks. Even then he only ate half of it.

Times like those made Tempest wonder what would happen to him if she and the rest of his human Pokémon left entirely. He had been like this for three years, steadily getting worse. All of them, Tempest in particular, took care of him just as much, if not more so than he took care of them. Their previous winnings earned them plenty of money, but Sky might seriously starve himself to death if Tempest didn't look after him.

The rest of his human Pokémon lost faith in his recovery long ago. It was too painful for them to just watch him punish himself over something he couldn't control. The Four were no more and that was that. Sky himself had said it more than once, but he clearly didn't believe that. Thus, the others turned their attention elsewhere. They would probably all be gone if it weren't for Tempest's undying faith. Her belief in PureBlueSky made the rest believe in him, as well.

Tempest had been his first human Pokémon. She had been the first human Pokémon that the Four had ever seen and was the most powerful. Her evolution started everything.

It was no wonder that it was Tempest that looked after him. She did so, hoping and praying that he would snap out of it. The tournament was supposed to be the turning point. And yet, here he was, hiding like a scared little animal.

Why was she doing this to herself? Everyone else had moved on and given up and yet she still couldn't do it. She realized that it was pride that kept her going. She had too much pride in herself and in what Sky had once been. And what he might become, if she only believed in him…

As much as it hurt to watch him, to give up and admit her failure would hurt even worse.

"You know," Tempest's voice broke through the silence, "she's been looking for you. She kept looking at the stands during her match."

"She must be looking for someone else," Sky didn't look up. He didn't have to ask who Tempest was talking about.

"I'm sure they miss you," Tempest couldn't help but try, "they wouldn't have come if they didn't."

"Maybe," Sky admitted.

"She's in the same bracket as Aurum," Tempest re-stated what Sky already knew, "if they both keep winning, they'll have to fight in Round Three. And you'll have to fight Edge in the semi-final."

"Probably," Sky muttered.

"Is that what you're waiting for?" Tempest asked, guessing at his plan, "A big, over-dramatic reunion on the battlefield?"

"I'm not Silph."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

Sky didn't reply. He had run through reunion scenarios, in his head, countless times. Each one was garbage, of course. Maybe he'd sweep River in his arms without saying anything and kiss her full on the lips. Maybe _she'd_ confess her love and throw herself at him. Maybe he would try and she would slap him across the face or curse him out or maybe even have Teardrop shoot him with an Ice Beam.

But the truth of it was that he had no idea what would happen.

"Oh, come on!" Tempest's temper broke "how long are you going to sit there punishing yourself? We've come all the way here and you're _still_ not going to try?"

"Try what, exactly?" this time, Sky did indeed turn to face her.

"I don't know!" Tempest threw up her hands, "try 'hello.' Did you ever think that might work?"

PureBlueSky paused. He didn't have an answer ready. But how could Tempest understand how he felt? It wasn't that he didn't know what to say, or even that he thought River hated him. It was worse than that.

Once they parted ways, everything got worse for Sky. He missed them dearly every single day. They had been his first real friends. Without them, he was nothing. He was broken and alone. How could he face Aurum, Edge and River if they knew what he had become?

"It's not as easy as you make it sound," Sky told Tempest.

"Yes it is," she pressed, "you just need to get out there and try. At least go to a match, or something. There's no point in sitting here doing nothing."

"Edge's match isn't for another two days, anyway," Sky declared, dodging the point.

"So? _Our_ first match is tomorrow," Tempest reminded him, "and you haven't even left the room yet!" She sighed and decided to go for a smaller win, "at least go outside. It's beautiful out there."

Sky glanced out the window at the clear skies of Himitsu Island, "why?"

"Never mind, go back to your book," she turned to leave, "I'll go by myself."

"No, wait," Tempest could hardly believe what she had just heard, "I'll go with you. I'm not getting anywhere, anyway."

"…Alright," Tempest nodded but still hid the fact that she was smiling. She just couldn't give up on the son of a bitch…

Mark had never actually been on a date before. Of course, the criteria for a date varied depending on who one asked.

Some would say that he and Maple had already been dating ever since Maple had evolved. Their hand-in-hand walk on the first night of the tournament could probably also count as a date and therefore be the official start of their relationship.

Then again, they didn't really do anything specific. It hadn't involved a meal, a movie, or any other event where Mark would be required to pay. Not that he would have a choice, Maple didn't have any money. So, maybe that first night hadn't really counted. The second night didn't count because they were both too exhausted to do anything besides sleep.

In Mark's mind, that made his afternoon with Maple, after their morning victory, the official start of their relationship. All of the necessary ingredients were in place and they were both in the proper mindset. With their victory they had survived Round One and according to the schedule, they wouldn't be fighting again for a whopping five days. Thus, it was time for a break and a chance for Mark to work out his feelings a bit more.

Even after their temporary break-up and tender reunion, Mark still couldn't say for certain that he felt the same way about Maple as she felt about him. He felt terrible about that and he hid that feeling as carefully as possible, guarding it as if revealing it might destroy the entire world. He didn't realize that this would be an even worse idea. Labeling the afternoon as a date also proved to be a terrible idea.

The date went by the book. It began with lunch in the square, at the very same café where they had met Alex. Maple ordered her favorite standby of a salad and soda, delighting in the chance to experience the process of ordering food, rather than having Mark bring it to her. Mark mirrored her decision, since he was too nervous to do otherwise.

Maple also took sheer delight in enjoying what Mark referred to as a "sundae." It looked quite a bit different from what she expected, but she really liked the cute little cherry on the top of it, even if it didn't taste as good, by comparison. Mark thought it was far too big for her to eat it by herself, but she surprised him by practically inhaling the seven scoops of sugar-filled dessert.

No matter how many times it gave her a headache, she never learned.

After lunch, the two went off to explore the open-air shops on Himitsu Island. Maple was in desperate need of a new dress since she was now down to just two copies of her light-tan dress. Her tattered and blood-stained one that she had worn the first day of the tournament had already been put through more hell than what it was designed for. Naturally, Maple didn't mind and when Mark tried to convince her to throw it away, she refused and clung to it like a security blanket. Mark couldn't fathom why.

Once again, Maple showed little enthusiasm during their second shopping trip. Mark figured he could manage without Hayley. Provided, of course, that they skip underwear shopping. But Mark had every reason to believe that Maple wouldn't argue.

The open-air markets of Himitsu Island were located just north of the town square. They bore too close of a resemblance to Ecruteak's for Mark's comfort. The unpleasant memories that he now associated with them were almost enough for him to call it off. However, despite the excited glint in Maple's eyes, she stayed close by. As much as she wanted to race ahead, she had learned her lesson.

Looking around, Mark noticed that most of the clothing stores were more like costume shops than any clothing store he had ever been in. That was weird, to say the least. Although, it explained the style of dress of every single human Pokémon that Mark had seen, thus far. Perhaps they didn't even like clothing, but just followed the convention already set in place by the humans they were trying to be like.

Once again, the two managed to locate a set of light-tan dresses that reflected Maple's current collection. The only true difference between Himitsu Island and Alden's corner shop was that Himitsu Island was better stocked. Not only did they find something similar to Maple's dress of choice, but they found it in a variety of sizes. Mark bought five more of the same, simple dress.

This was getting ridiculous. Maple could literally change her clothes every day for a week and still be wearing the same outfit. Mark wouldn't even have to do any laundry.

They briefly stopped back at the hotel to drop off Maple's clothes before continuing. Mark suggested that they continue walking and shopping. Predictably, Maple had no objection and followed after with her usual enthusiasm. She took Mark's hand and hummed a tuneless song as they continued to walk.

But Mark's thoughts were already far away.

This was happening. He was on a date with Maple. He was on a date with the girl who had been his Leafeon just three weeks ago.

What did she mean to him, now? What was she when she was a Leafeon?

She had been his favorite and his strongest. She was the one that he looked after with more care and attention than any of his other Pokémon. That had doubled, if not tripled since she had evolved. If Pokémon could feel jealousy, the rest of Mark's Pokémon probably hated Maple by now. Mark supposed that that wouldn't be too strange. After all, Maple's evolution had proven that Pokémon could feel love towards a human.

And wasn't that the real issue here?

Maple had loved Mark long before those three weeks had started, but Mark couldn't say that he loved her back. He wasn't worried about the fact that Maple loved him. He honestly enjoyed it, no matter how oddly uncomfortable it sometimes made him feel. No one had ever shown Mark this kind of affection, aside from his mother. He never knew his father.

Still, his mother's unconditional love paled in comparison to Maple's. There was no inherent instinct that made Maple love him. She loved him because she wanted to. He didn't know why, but he knew it was true. Even if she didn't say it.

But the problem wasn't Maple's love for him. That was certain and a wonderful comfort to have. Mark was really just afraid that he might not be able to return that love.

He wanted to feel the same way as Maple, but he wasn't ready.

That's what the date was for, right?

But he was walling himself off. As they walked hand-in-hand around Himitsu Island, Mark found it impossible to relax. Every smile, every gesture, every word felt like a lie.

He should tell Maple, shouldn't he? She'd be crushed. He couldn't do it.

She had evolved for him. She had left everything she had ever known behind. She had entered this strange world where she bled in battle. And she did it all for him.

Why?

What the hell was he doing?

He was supposed to be sorting through his own feelings, but instead he was obsessing over what Maple might be thinking. Did she notice that he was hiding something? Would she show it, even if she did notice?

Two days ago, when Maple had left, he had known instantly that he wanted her back. He had chased after her because that feeling had been so strong. But had he done that because he truly missed her? Or was he just trying to make up for upsetting her and his betrayal of her feelings for him?

The date continued and Mark tried to focus on making Maple happy.

The two resumed exploring the island. A few people recognized Mark and Maple, shouting their congratulations, but Mark forgot almost all of their faces immediately. It wasn't that he didn't care; he was just too preoccupied with the date to think of anything else. He also felt like he didn't actually do that much to win. Most of the work came from Maple, and her strength had come from Aurum and Katana more than it came from him.

Maple, however, delighted in the attention. She was more than happy to relay her own thoughts on the victory. Describing the sensation of her fists connecting with Cerberus' jaw was her personal favorite memory of the fight. She loved telling it and did so with an equal amount of over-enthusiasm every time she retold the story.

Mark was glad to see that Maple was happy. She did everything so much more naturally than he did. Mark just about always had to stop and think, but Maple just reacted and lived in the moment. She was perfectly relaxed and happy to just be with him. Why couldn't he do the same with her? Why did he have to keep thinking and worrying?

The date was starting to feel like a mistake. Maple hadn't noticed how distracted he was, but it was getting worse. Soon he wouldn't be able to hide it anymore. They shouldn't have even been out there. They should be training, getting ready for the next match.

Wait, wouldn't his next opponent be fighting that afternoon? They could go watch and see who won. Then he could plan out a counter strategy.

Mark checked the time and saw it was four o'clock in the afternoon. The match was over already. They had missed it entirely. So much for that idea. Now what?

As Mark walked around, following Maple's lead, he racked his brain for ideas. What could they do? Everything he came up with sounded moronic.

"What's wrong?" Maple asked gently.

"Uh…nothing," Mark's guard had slipped and he decided that it would be a good time to call an end to the date, "I think we've seen everything, though," they hadn't, but it was the best he could come up with, "do you want to head back to the hotel, now?"

"Umm…okay," Maple nodded, concern clearly evident in her big eyes.

_Dammit, dammit, dammit_, Mark thought. She knew something was wrong. Mark cursed himself for being so stupid.

AN: I wonder what the ratio of question marks to periods has been in this story…

And Mark's over-thinking gets him in trouble again. Well, that'll do for some fresh relationship drama for the next section or two. I didn't really think this story would turn into this much of a romance, but it passes the time, if nothing else. Ignore my cynicism if the romance is why you're reading.

Thanks for reading!


	33. Reluctant Leaders

Chapter 32

Mark and Maple didn't hold hands on their way back to the hotel. Mark already felt like an idiot and he was afraid that saying something would make it worse.

But it was the silence that made Maple start to think and start to worry. What had she done? They were having a good time, weren't they?

But neither one had much time to think it over.

For once, Mark noticed them first. Huddled around a bench outside of the hotel were a human Absol and Ninjask with their trainer. Mark recognized Silver and Lily, the nervous Absol and the young girl that had approached them on the morning of the first day. The Ninjask he didn't know, but must've been another member of their group.

As they got closer, he noticed something strange. Sitting on the bench, Lily had started crying.

"No, no, it's okay," panicking, Silver knelt down in front of her, "we'll find her. I promise." He hated it when he saw her like this. Lily cried in short, little, squeaking sobs. She did it so little he often forgot how much it hurt to watch her do it.

"Mistress, the fault is mine for not being strong enough to find her," Shinobi apologized from his standard crouching position, "please, I will accept any punishment that you wish to inflict."

Lily cried harder.

"_You're not helping_!" Silver snapped at Shinobi. He meant well, but the human Ninjask had no idea how to talk to Lily.

With Aroma gone, Silver had suddenly become the linchpin of the group. Despite his reluctance to take the role he did it anyway. There was no other option. Lily had been a wreck ever since the night they had lost Aroma and Shinobi was more of a follower than a leader. That left Silver in the role he never wanted.

The truth of it was that he hated that Aroma was gone. She wasn't supposed to be the one that disappeared, it should've been him. He was left alone with these idiots and expected to pick up the pieces. Why did she have to leave him like this?

But he was angry for no reason, and he knew it. Aroma would never just abandon them, she wasn't like that. Something terrible had happened to her. She must have been kidnapped. Maybe it was wrong for Silver to assume that somebody had kidnapped her, but he liked the alternative even less.

On the bright side, Lily still had Aroma's Pokéball. Moving her without anyone noticing would be difficult. There was a very real chance that she was still somewhere on the island. If he could just find her, then everything would go back to normal.

"Umm…what's wrong?" Mark asked, hesitant to stick his nose where it didn't belong.

"_It's all my fault_!" Lily wailed, "Aroma's gone and it's all my fault!" She broke into a fresh round of sobs.

"Hey, hey, hey, cut that out!" Silver sounded even more desperate than the last time Mark and Maple had seen him, "I'm telling you, there's still a chance that she's here! We can still find her!"

"Who's Aroma?" Maple asked. She knelt down next to Silver, trying to get Lily to look her in the eyes.

"M-my Meganium," Lily managed to say between sobs, "s-she was w-with me on the first n-night of the tournament. I was only g-gone for a second…" She trailed off and started crying, again.

_Dammit, this isn't your fault_, Silver thought, furious with himself, _it's mine. I shouldn't have been out like that. Because of me…_

"Wait, what happened?" Mark asked.

"Aroma was kidnapped that night," Silver explained, leaving out…certain details, "we don't know how or why, but she's gone."

"Isn't there anybody to report this to?" Mark asked. It seemed like an obvious question, but he got an unexpected response.

"Not exactly," Silver shook his head, "there's tournament security, hired by Silph, but they're just crowd control. They don't have the capability of a regular police force. And Himitsu's own police have no way to counter something a human Pokémon might do. We're pretty much on our own."

"Wait, _what_?" Mark couldn't believe it, "they're putting on a tournament without any way to stop any crime? That's insane!"

"Yeah, well, welcome to the world of human Pokémon," Silver grumbled, "there's too few of us to be recognized and protected. And even if they did that much, we're too powerful for anybody else to stop us. That leaves everything up to the human Pokémon and their trainers to make the decisions."

"So, if a human Pokémon or a trainer felt like destroying a building…"

"Then another human Pokémon or trainer would have to stop him," Silver supplied the answer, "that's the world we live in."

"Then I'm going to help you," Mark declared without hesitation, "there's no way you should have to do this alone."

Silver stood up and turned to Mark, leaving Maple to console Lily, "you serious?" He looked Mark up and down and glanced at Maple.

"We're tougher than we look," Mark did his best to sound convincing. He didn't think it worked, but after a few seconds, Silver smirked.

"I appreciate that," the human Absol nodded, "but what we need right now is information. We need to know who did this and, more importantly, where to find them. We need leads, and right now we don't have any."

"Right…" Mark sighed. His statement of bravery began to quickly lose its feeling of importance.

"Look, I don't want to drag you kids into this," Silver started, "but if you hear anything, let us know. Even if it's just rumors or hunches, we'll take anything."

"Alright," Mark nodded, "we'll ask around. See if we can come up with anything." He peered around Silver to look at Maple and Lily. Lily had stopped openly sobbing and was just sniffing back tears.

"Come on, Maple," he called, "somebody has to know something." Maple was slow to leave Lily.

"Thank you," Lily forced a smile through her tear-streaked face. The sadness in her eyes made Mark furious at whoever had done this to her.

_One night, just one night_, Lionel's thoughts were frantic as he made his way through the facility and back to the surface.

It was nowhere near enough time. He had been set-up to fail, he knew it. What the hell were they going to do to him? The secrecy of Team Deus was of the utmost importance, if they just let him go, he could ruin everything for them. Did they have something worse planned?

No, he pushed that from his mind. He had to stay focused on the job. That's all it was, just a job. If he did this, it would be over. He could go back to his old life.

That was what he told himself. But, like he just said, they weren't going to let him leave. He was here for life, whether he liked it or not.

Last time, he had gotten lucky when Mark and Maple had that fight. They had been separated for no more than a precious few hours, but it was a window he could've used. If only he hadn't…no, it was over. Those mistakes were behind him. He couldn't make them again.

He needed a plan. He needed a solid, well-built, intelligent plan. But with one night, he'd need almost as much luck as the last time. What could he slap together that would separate the two of them for those few minutes he needed?

Unfortunately, the best he could come up with was to steal their room key. If he had that, he could sneak in at night. Just tiptoe inside and slip the collar around Maple's neck while she slept…

But that was a long shot. They'd know if a room key suddenly went missing, especially if they only had one, which they probably did. The plan would blow up in his face before it even got off the ground. And that was IF he succeeded in getting close enough to snatch it off of Mark.

No, that was stupid. As sad as it was; the best he could do was go and follow them. There would be no other option but to grab Maple the first instant they were apart. It would be risky as hell, but he was desperate now.

One night.

_I can do this_, Lionel thought, _I have to. There's no other way_. Lost in thought, he walked right past Silver, Shinobi, and the sobbing Lily.

"So, what do we do?" Maple asked Mark as they waited for the elevator.

"Just start asking, I guess," Mark shrugged, "we should probably split up, though. It'll be faster."

"Okay," Maple agreed.

Mark would be lying to himself if he didn't admit he was a little relieved. This gave him the perfect chance to be alone for a little bit. More importantly, he could ask Kim for advice under the guise of asking about the kidnappings.

"You go up to Eric's room and ask them," he suggested, "I'll go talk to Kim and we'll meet back up outside of the room." That would be a good start.

After that, they could try Alex, but they had no idea where to find him. Flurry and Eric might know something, but again, they had no way to contact them. Lionel might just appear and it would be easier to wait than look. Aurum, of course, would be the best one to ask, but Mark doubted if he had seen anything or whether or not he'd be willing to help. Still, they weren't alone and that was reassuring.

"Alright," Maple nodded. She was distracted, thinking about Lily and Silver. Silver had shown such a different attitude from before. Last time he had practically begged for their aid in hiding him from Lily. Now he was spear-heading the operation to rescue Aroma and piece the group back together as if he had been the leader the entire time. And what about Aroma? Where did she fit into the group?

But it didn't matter. Aroma needed their help.

The elevator arrived and the two entered. Mark pressed the buttons corresponding to the appropriate floors. Mark's stop on their floor, and Kim's, came first and he stepped off, waving goodbye to Maple.

Watching him go, Maple felt uneasy, but the doors closed and she had to remind herself of her mission. They both trusted Eric, Tsunami and Fernelia. Nothing could go wrong just by talking to them. Still, it felt strange to be doing this sort of thing without Mark's help. It still felt strange to be doing _anything_ without Mark beside her.

When the elevator arrived at the right floor, Maple was slow to get off as she peered around the empty hallway. As a result, the elevator door started to close and nearly clamped down on her tail. Jumping back and spinning in mid-air she barely stopped herself from retaliating against the door with a Leaf Blade. That would be a stupid way to start her mission.

Shaking her head and coming back to her senses, she reminded herself what room number Eric had told Mark. Chanting it to herself, she started walking down the hallway, checking each door as she went. She made it to the fifth door before she realized that she must have gone the wrong way. Doubling back, she found 1502 right next to the elevator.

She took a few deep breaths to steady herself and then knocked lightly.

Nothing happened.

Confused, Maple re-thought her approach. She had seen Mark do this before outside of Kim's room. It didn't seem complicated and he didn't have any trouble getting results. What had he done differently?

She could hear voices on the other side of the door. Tsunami's gruff, yet friendly tone and Eric's unusually mature one took turns as they conversed with each other.

"She was really good," Eric's muffled voice came through the door. Maple took a moment to sort out what they were talking about.

"Yeah, that Ninjask was fast as hell…" Tsunami responded. They were talking about a match they had seen.

"You think Mark can take them?"

"I really don't know," Tsunami paused, "he's not bad, but I don't see him winning against somebody like that."

Maple tried knocking again, a bit harder this time. Maybe they just didn't hear her the first time.

"Was that the door?" Eric asked.

"I think so," Tsunami added. Neither one sounded any closer than they were before.

"Oh, I'll get it," Fernelia's agitated voice joined in and Maple brightened.

The door opened and Fernelia smiled as she recognized her guest.

"Maple! How are you, sweetheart?" she greeted with her usual maternal kindness.

"Hello," Maple smiled back and began waving her tail, "I just wanted to ask you a few questions." It was surprising how easily that came out.

"Of course, of course," Fernelia stepped to the side to allow Maple to pass, "come in, come in." Beaming now, Maple trotted in to see Tsunami sprawled on the far bed and Eric sitting at the edge of the nearest one. Seeing Maple, Tsunami sat bolt upright in an effort to compose himself for their guest.

"Hello," Maple chirped.

"Go ahead and sit, sweetheart," Fernelia patted the bed next to Maple as she pulled up a chair for herself. She waited for Maple to sit down before continuing, "what brings you here?"

"Yeah," Eric raised an eyebrow, "and where's Mark? Last time we saw you two was your match."

"Oh, you were there?" Maple brightened even further at this information, "itwassocool! We had planned all along to use Dig to…" she stopped herself, "oh, that's actually not why I'm here."

"…Okay," Eric rolled his eyes, "what are you here for?"

"Well, you see," Maple fumbled for the right words, "there's this trainer that we met. Her name's Lily."

"Oh, yeah, we've seen her," Tsunami spoke up, "she's good. Already won her first match. She's gonna be-"

"Dear, please," Fernelia interrupted, "go on, Maple."

"Well, the thing is…" Maple looked at the floor, why was it so hard to say this? "The thing is, her Aroma. Her human Meganium, I mean. Her name's Aroma. Umm…she got…kidnapped two days ago. And…they can't find her."

"And you wanted our help?" Eric helped Maple finish.

"Well," Maple shrugged, "I really just wanted to know if you had seen or heard anything…weird, I guess."

"Sorry…" Eric shook his head, "nothing like that…" he trailed off and started to stare at the floor. That had to be hard, losing a human Pokémon like that. They weren't just Pokémon, they were family. Eric himself had already lost one set of parents. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he lost another.

"Oh, okay," Maple nodded, but her voice was laced with disappointment. So much for her mission. She hoped that Mark wouldn't be too disappointed in her.

"We'll let you know if we hear anything," Tsunami reassured her, "you and Mark."

"Thank you," Maple smiled at him, despite her disappointment. She got up to leave.

"Umm…say," Fernelia began, "how are things with you and Mark?" Even after watching their victory and their open affection for each other afterwards, Fernelia still felt uneasy. The image of Maple running passed them with tears in her eyes, and her dress stained red, lingered on in Fernelia's mind.

"How are things with me and Mark?" Maple was asking herself as much as she was asking Fernelia, "we're fine. Everything's good."

She didn't like lying, but she did it anyway.

AN: I'm sure you guys don't remember Lily, Silver and Shinobi very well. It's been quite a while since they've been around. Good news is that the minor characters are going to get some more attention, very soon. Eric and Lily in particular, since we don't know them very well.

Guess that's all I wanted to say, this week.

Thanks for reading!


	34. On the Eleventh Floor

Chapter 33

"What do you want, noob?" Kim sighed as she leaned against her door and peered at Mark.

"Couldn't you be a little nicer?" he asked.

"Nope," Kim shook her head, "I'll be nice to Maple. I'm friends with her."

"That doesn't sound very fair…" Mark groaned.

"She's cuter than you, get used to it," Kim patted Mark's shoulder in mock sympathy, "anyways, I'm just screwing with you. Come on in."

Rolling his eyes, Mark did as he was told and entered the room. It was the perfect mirror image of him and Maple's room, right down to the paintings on the wall. The only difference was the Raichu-boy sitting at the wooden table.

"So, what's up?" Kim asked, flopping down on the nearest bed.

"I need advice," Mark admitted. There was no point in hiding it, "I may have done something stupid."

"Goddamn it…" Kim moaned, "stupid teenagers…"

"I didn't even tell you what it is, yet!" Mark snapped.

"Alright, fine," Kim sat up and tried to pay attention, "start talking."

"Well…" Mark gathered his thoughts, trying to pick out where to begin, "you see, me and Maple went on our first date today. The thing is; I've never been on a date before. And, I guess, for one thing I'm not sure what's supposed to happen…"

Kim raised an eyebrow, "are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious," Mark sighed, "I guess, I never really got the chance while I was training Pokémon or-"

"I'm not asking about how you've never been on a date," Kim smiled a sly half-smile, "I mean the other part. About 'what's supposed to happen' on a date."

"What about it?"

"You honestly think there's an answer?" Kim asked, fighting back laughter as she did so, "like, what'd you do? Dinner and a movie? Did you hold hands and spout cliché lines to each other under a starlit sky?" She couldn't hold back anymore and she burst out into high-pitched laughter that was virtually a cackle.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Mark gaped at her. Across the room, Volt turned around and stared at his trainer. He had never seen her like this, but he thought he knew where this reaction might be coming from.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Kim regained control of herself, "teenagers, honestly…so, what? I'm guessing you said something stupid that upset her?"

"Not exactly," Mark shook his head, "I think she just…figured something out."

"Like what?" Kim asked. There was genuine concern in her voice this time.

"Well…the thing is…" Mark spoke barely louder than a whisper, "I think she's in love with me. But I don't know if I'm in love with her."

"Hmm…" Kim thought it over, "okay, now we're getting somewhere. So…what? Does she come on too strong for you, or something?"

"No," Mark hung his head while he thought, "she's been great. It's just that…she doesn't know. And I don't know what to do. She's been great, but…I've been awful…"

Kim nodded. That made sense. Mark was doing what he always did. He was worrying too much and trying to fix something that didn't need fixing. In essence, he was beating himself up over nothing.

Still, Maple should know that he didn't really feel the same way about her. In time, he might be able to return those feelings, but not just yet. He was certainly willing enough to try. The irony of it was that if he was too worried about scaring or disappointing or hurting her, he would end up doing exactly that.

"It doesn't seem to me like Maple thinks you've been awful," Kim suggested, "She seems fine with the way you've been treating her."

"Really?" Mark hadn't thought about that.

"You probably hear this all the time, but you think too much," Kim smirked.

"I can't help it," Mark sighed and hung his head.

* * *

><p>The trip back to the hotel room was a somber one, for Maple. She had avoided answering any more prodding questions from Fernelia, Eric and Tsunami, but she couldn't keep herself from asking those questions.<p>

What was Mark worried about? What had she done wrong?

She had been pretty selfish lately. Everything they did revolved around Maple. They trained so she could get through their fight, a fight that she had just about forced Mark into. They went shopping for her clothes and had generally done the things she wanted to do. But they hadn't done anything that Mark wanted to do.

That must have been it. Maple had been selfish and she didn't even realize it. Why hadn't she thought of that? Mark deserved to have time for him, he didn't exist for Maple. She was so stupid for not seeing that.

The hallway outside of their room was empty. That meant Mark was still talking to Kim. Maybe that meant that she had seen something suspicious. Or maybe not, but either way, Maple had to wait for Mark to come back. He had the keycard, after all.

Well, that was no big deal. It would give her plenty of time to think about how she was going to apologize to Mark for being so selfish. She wanted to get the words right and that would take some time.

* * *

><p><em>Calm down, man, just calm down<em>, Lionel was so nervous his hands were shaking as he rode the elevator. He still didn't have a plan and nothing was coming to him. The collar was tucked safely away in his pack, but he doubted that he could use it in the state that he was in.

What the hell was he going to do? He was walking right into the dumbest thing he had ever done. One mistake and Mark might just have Maple slice his head off. That image came forth in all too gory detail and he shuddered.

Still, whatever they would do to him for real, Farin would do something far worse if he failed. Never mind getting his head chopped off, Lionel didn't want to imagine the horror Farin would inflict on him.

Somehow, this steadied Lionel. There was no more room for error. No more questions to ask. It was do or very literally, die.

The elevator dinged its arrival on the eleventh floor. The doors slid open and Lionel stepped out. A second later, he almost jumped right back in.

Right down the hall, in plain sight, stood Maple. She was alone outside of their hotel room, waiting for Mark to return. She seemed lost in thought and couldn't sit still. She twitched and fidgeted and muttered to herself. She was thinking out loud and had no idea that she wasn't alone.

Was this really happening? She was right in front of him, completely alone and vulnerable. No Mark…no witnesses at all.

Lionel couldn't believe it. Were things finally going his way? After all of the planning and all of the worry, she was right there, practically gift-wrapped for him. All he had to do was walk up and take her.

_I can do this_, Lionel thought, _it'll be easy. She won't suspect a thing and then I'll have her. It just has to be now, or it'll never happen._

As quietly as he could, he reached inside his bag and removed the collar.

* * *

><p>"Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?" Kim asked, trying to change the subject. She was nearing the limit of what relationship advice she had to give. Worse, what advice she did have didn't have any effect on Mark's attitude.<p>

"Huh?" Mark shook himself out of his thoughts, "uh…yeah, actually. There's something I wanted to ask both of you." He checked to make sure he had Volt's attention before continuing, "Have either of you seen anything suspicious?"

"Suspicious, how?" Kim opened her mouth to speak, but Volt beat her to it. The human Raichu was on edge immediately.

"Well, I'm not asking for me," Mark explained, "there's a trainer named Lily who's missing a human Meganium."

"Missing?" Volt narrowed his gaze. This was it. He could tell them everything he had seen Lionel do. But maybe not. Ratting out one of their friends would be tough without good proof. Still, this could be exactly what he needed to be able to break it to them.

"Yeah," Mark nodded, "she went missing two nights ago. Nobody's seen her since."

"Two nights ago?" Volt asked. _Dammit_, he thought. Two nights ago was the same night he had tailed Lionel to the edge of town and overheard his little tantrum. Lionel already had an alibi for this one, the lucky little bastard. Still…Volt already knew he wasn't alone. The kid couldn't be totally innocent…

"Yeah," Mark continued, "the first night of the tournament. We're almost positive she was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Kim spoke up, "would somebody do that? I mean, I've heard rumors about people like that, but during the tournament? Would somebody really have the balls to do that?"

"Oh, yeah," Volt smirked, "I don't doubt that for a second."

"Why's that?" Mark asked. He had come to the right people.

"You're not gonna like it," Volt continued to smirk as he shook his head.

* * *

><p>"Hi, there!"<p>

Maple jumped a full foot into the air when Lionel's over-cheerful voice broke the silence and the stream of her thoughts. Her heart racing, she turned to face the boy and saw him standing with his hands behind his back and that old grin firmly in place.

"H-hi," Maple stuttered, recomposing herself, "what are you doing here?"

"Oh, just…wanted to check in with you guys," Lionel explained, "see how you were doing."

"Right…" Maple nodded, "well, we're doing good…"

"Awesome, awesome," Lionel nodded, "is Mark around?"

"Not right now," Maple started, "he's talking to Kim."

"What about?" Lionel asked. Mark was just down the hall. Dammit, Lionel would have to be a bit more careful. Good thing he checked.

"It's about a Meganium-woman that went missing," Maple explained, "we think she was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Lionel had a pretty good idea of who it was, "who would do something like that?"

"We don't know," Maple shook her head, but then realized that she had a second chance at completing her mission, "have you seen anything weird like that?"

"Can't say that I have," Lionel shook his head. Then he remembered that Cal had brought in a human Meganium two nights ago. The odds of it being a different Meganium-woman were slim, nearly impossible. Most of the human Pokémon in existence were unique, only a handful of Pokémon were known to have more than one human counterpart.

"Oh, I see…" Maple's ears drooped as she realized that she had failed a second time, "I really wanted to help them, too…"

"Wait a second," Lionel had to be careful to keep the excitement from overpowering him, "I think I actually do remember seeing something suspicious."

"Really?" Maple's ears shot back up with excitement, "where? When was it?"

"There's a really suspicious guy on the floor below us," Lionel began, he was moments away, he tightened his grip on the collar, "we can go check it out."

"That's perfect!" Maple chimed.

_Got you_, Lionel thought and he grinned even wider.

"I'll go get Mark," Maple turned to leave, but Lionel grabbed her wrist.

"You think that's necessary?" Lionel asked.

Maple stared at his hand around her wrist. It was shaking and covered in sweat. And he was gripping much too tightly. His nails dug into her skin.

"Lionel, let go," Maple whimpered.

"No," Lionel breathed harshly, "I'm not letting you get away, again."

"Lionel, _let go_!" Maple made an attempt at pulling away, but Lionel tightened his grip.

"You're coming with me," Lionel hissed. He started to bring the collar around from behind his back.

Maple didn't hold back on the second attempt and she easily broke from Lionel's grip, shoving him to the ground. Rubbing at her wrist and panting, she wondered what to do.

_Mark_, she thought, _I have to get Mark_. She ran for Kim's room and started knocking furiously. She glanced back at Lionel as she did so, but he was already running in the opposite direction, heading for the elevator.

At last, the door opened and Maple flung herself inside.

* * *

><p>Something wasn't right. Fernelia could feel it.<p>

Maple had dodged most of her questions and had just about run from the room. Even if Fernelia didn't know what it was like to be a human girl at her age, she knew enough to know that she was lying. However, Eric and Tsunami did not.

A mother's instinct, she supposed. Technically, she wasn't a mother, but she worried and cared about Eric enough that it made little difference. She wasn't his first human Pokémon, but her presence had done wonders to heal the damage that his biological mother's passing had caused. They were family, whether Fernelia and Tsunami were Pokémon or not.

Perhaps that was why she didn't tell them why she was going. If something was wrong, Fernelia could handle it. There was no need to make them worry.

As she thought about it, she decided that Maple had a strong sense of independence. She didn't want to burden them with her problems and had resigned to deal with them on her own. Again, maybe Fernelia had never felt those emotions at Maple's age, but it still seemed odd for a girl like that. And yet, she was naturally comfortable around Fernelia. As if that same maternal characteristic of Fernelia's gave Maple some comfort. Did something happen to her own parents?

In any case, Fernelia could sense Maple's need for support. If she could help the young Leafeon-girl in any way, it would at least put her mind at ease. She had to try.

What floor was it? Eleven? She climbed inside the elevator and pressed the button for that floor. The doors closed and the elevator lurched out of place and started downward.

A few moments later, the elevator doors slid open and there was an oddly familiar face standing there.

"Oh, I remember you," Fernelia recognized the blond-haired boy in front of her, "your name's Lionel, right? How are you?"

Lionel blinked as recognition sank it. He remembered her. They had met once before on the boat trip to Himitsu Island. He blinked a few more times and then realized something. He was still holding the collar.

"What's that in your hand?" Fernelia asked.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope the frequent scene changes weren't too confusing. It helps keep the tension high, even though each section is kinda short.<p>

I'll see you all next week and happy holidays!


	35. In Pursuit

Chapter 34

Kim had a tough time staying on her feet when Maple flung herself through the door. With the Leafeon-girl firmly attached around her waist, she teetered and stumbled and held onto the wall for support. Finally, the sound of the door snapping shut seemed to calm Maple enough to make her pause. Her eyes were wide and scared and darted everywhere around the room. Kim thought of a rabbit that had narrowly escaped being caught by a wolf. Then her eyes found Mark and she flung herself at him instead and the whole scene repeated itself in the middle of the room. This time with a boy clasped in Maple's terrified grip.

"Maple, calm down," Mark told her, "it's okay, you're safe. Come on, what happened?"

Her grip still firm, she looked into Mark's eyes and started speaking in quick, frightened bursts much too fast for Mark to even pick out what might have even resembled words. All he got was "Lionel."

"Told ya," Volt shook his head, "should've said something sooner…"

"Damn right you should've said something sooner!" Kim yelled at him, "The girl's traumatized! I hope you're happy!"

"Hey, he didn't get her, did he?" Volt countered.

"Will you two _shut up_?" Mark snapped at them both. A lot was happening all at once, but arguing was just going to waste time. He needed a second.

First came shame. He had left Maple alone and vulnerable. He hadn't expected Lionel, well, anybody, to try and grab a human Pokémon inside the hotel, but it was his fault that she wasn't with him.

Next came confusion. Whatever these people were using to catch human Pokémon, they didn't need to do anything flashy. They would've heard a battle and Maple didn't have any marks on her. Still, Lionel had scared her bad enough to make her run here.

Then came anger. The son of a bitch had deceived them all. He had pretended to be a friend, just to get close to Maple. No wonder he had wanted to separate them before. And now they had played right into his hand without even knowing it. He even had the guts to try and grab her right inside the hotel. That was reckless and outright ludicrous. Did he seriously expect to make a clean getaway?

Last was determination. Wherever he had gone, he couldn't have gotten far. Even if he hadn't been the one to kidnap Aroma, he could lead them to her. All they needed to do was catch him and make him squeal.

"Maple," Mark put his hands on her shoulders, trying to steady her, "it's okay. You're safe now." She nodded, and some of the fear left her eyes, "but we need to go after him. He could lead us to Aroma. Do you think you're ready for that?" Maple didn't speak, but she nodded.

"We better move," Mark turned to Kim and Volt, "before the little bastard gets away."

"Right behind you, boss," Kim smirked.

"Shut up," Mark smirked back. They didn't have time to worry about who was leading this mission, but he had to admit, he was surprised at himself. Taking charge of the situation wasn't something he was used to, but with Maple threatened, he slipped into the role easily enough.

They were halfway to the elevator when the doors slid open and Eric and Tsunami stepped through. The two looked surprised to see them, but at the same time they were looking for something.

"What's up?" Mark asked a little afraid of what the answer might be.

"Nothing, I hope," Eric started; worry growing on his face, "have you seen Fernelia? She said she was coming to talk to you guys, but she didn't say why."

"Umm…no, we haven't seen her," Mark explained,_ don't tell me_, "How long ago did she leave you guys?"

"Not long," Eric admitted, "just a couple minutes, maybe. We realized we should stick together. Especially after talking to Maple about those kidnappers."

"A couple minutes…" Mark's eyes went wide, "oh, shit."

"Wait," Kim spoke up, "he was after Maple, wasn't he?"

"Yeah…but if he failed," Mark explained, "He wouldn't want to leave empty-handed."

"Oh, God, you're right…"

"What do you mean 'empty-handed?'" Tsunami demanded, "where is my _wife_?"

"Stairs," Mark directed, "Kim, Volt, take the stairs and go get Lily, they're in room 1402. Tell them we found something and meet us outside as fast as they can. Eric, Tsunami, you're with me and Maple."

"Right," Kim nodded and she and her human Raichu were off.

"What the hell is going on?" Eric was growing paler by the second.

"Fernelia's been kidnapped," Mark shrugged his shoulders and looked away, "I'm sorry."

"Then what the hell are you standing there for?" this time Tsunami was the one to get them into action, "move!"

* * *

><p>Mark vaulted himself down the steps, going just slow enough to avoid tripping and falling on his face. Briefly, he thought about how that would be a very abrupt, anti-climactic way to end this chase before it even started. Still, as fast as he moved, Eric and Tsunami had been a flight of stairs ahead of him ever since the eighth floor and the gap only got wider.<p>

"Guys, slow down!" he called after them, "we have to stick together!" But it had no effect. In the end, he had no choice but to run faster. Maple had been right behind him, the whole time, silently following his lead.

Tsunami practically knocked the door to the lobby off of its hinges when he crashed through. Teeth gritted, he scanned the area, but Lionel and Fernelia were nowhere to be found. The lobby was empty, save for a human Blaziken and two human girls. The blond-haired boy was nowhere to be found.

Tsunami ran through the doors, out into the street, searching everywhere. The streets were becoming crowded, but Tsunami saw no trace of Lionel or Fernelia. He turned in place, desperate for any sign of the pair. His anger started to fade as panic set in. It couldn't be over. Where were they?

Eric came up next to him, his lower lip quivering, "which way?" He asked, out of breath.

Tsunami turned and looked down at his adopted son. Fernelia, Eric's mother and Tsunami's wife, was gone. How could he tell his son that she was gone? How could there be nothing that he could do for him?

Mark was next to join them with Maple padding up behind.

"No," Mark shook his head, "there must be a way to find him. He couldn't have gotten far. We'll just have to split up." He didn't like the suggestion the moment that he made it. There were too few of them. It was no longer safe to leave the human Pokémon alone, especially with Maple as the real target. That meant there were only two directions they could go in. It wouldn't be nearly enough to find Lionel. Soon, he would be gone forever.

"Hey," Silver's voice startled the whole group, "damn…what in the world is with you guys?"

"Silver," Mark looked past him and saw Lily and Shinobi right where he and Maple had left them, "Silver, we found something. I think we can get Aroma."

Silver blinked a few times, stunned by the statement, "damn, you guys get results fast."

"Very funny," Mark sighed, "but we have to move now, or we'll lose them."

"Alright," Silver nodded, "which way?"

"We don't know," Mark shook his head, his voice became frantic as he explained, "he could've gone anywhere. We're looking for a blond boy, about my age, and a human Tropius. They can't be far, he just grabbed her, I don't know, five minutes ago."

"The little brat that was spreading rumors?" Silver asked for confirmation and Mark nodded, "yeah, I remember him. He didn't exactly keep a low profile." Silver remained calm, despite their dire need to find Lionel. Mark had thought that every second counted, but Silver acted as though he already had a plan.

Just then, the automatic doors into the hotel slid open again and Kim dashed through, followed by Volt. Kim skidded to a stop in front of Mark, panting for breath, but Volt was barely tired at all.

"They're not…in their…room," Kim reported as she caught her breath, "what do you want to do?"

"Oh," Mark glanced back and forth between Kim and Silver a few times, "uh, Kim, Volt, this is Silver," he nodded over towards Lily and Shinobi, "and that's Lily and Shinobi, over there. They're the ones I wanted you to get."

"Nice to meet you," Kim nodded, before standing up straight and recomposing herself. After another moment, she slapped Mark upside his head, "you dick-wad! They were outside and you made us go to their room? We almost broke their door down, you idiot!"

"Oww…" Mark groaned, rubbing the side of his head, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Any luck?" Volt interrupted.

"We don't really know where to start," Silver shrugged.

"I can help you with that," Volt grinned, "I have more experience than the rest of you at hunting this little bitch, after all."

"Then I'm sure we'll get along great," Silver grinned back, "any ideas?"

"Yep," Volt nodded, "I tailed him to one of the warehouses around the docks. It was being watched by a surveillance camera. That's our way in."

"You said it was being watched?"

"I took care of it," Volt's grin widened.

"Alright, then," Silver felt much more confident with that information. Now they were really getting somewhere, "Shinobi!"

The human Ninjask darted over to them, closing the twenty yards in just a few short bursts of speed, his wings flitting as fast as a hummingbird's.

"Yes, Silver?" he asked, kneeling next to Silver and awaiting orders.

"You heard that, right?"

"Of course."

"Good. Your name's Volt, right?" the Raichu-boy nodded, "okay, which way is this secret entrance, anyway." Volt pointed southeast, towards the docks, "Shinobi, go ahead of us and see if you can find the kid. Tail him, but stay hidden. We'll meet up with you and go together. Let's just hope that's the entrance he's headed for."

"At once," Shinobi was gone before Mark could blink. He darted up to the rooftops of the nearby buildings, flitting from one to the other. His movements and reflexes were incredibly insect-like. He was the perfect choice for searching for Lionel.

"Come on," Silver said to the rest of them, "he's strong, but he'll need backup."

"Silvy," Lily's small voice sounded next to him, "what's going on?"

"We know where to find Aroma," Silver put his hands on her shoulders. He knew it would comfort her and give her some strength. She would need it.

"Really?" A huge smile stretched across her face for the first time since Aroma had disappeared.

"Really," Silver nodded. He had no solid reason to believe that this really would lead them to Aroma, but the lie felt worth it to get Lily to smile again. Holy Arceus, he prayed he could deliver.

* * *

><p><em>This is not an Eevee-evolution<em>, over and over again; it was the only thought in Lionel's head. But whatever he was doing, it didn't seem to need much extra attention. Or maybe he was protecting himself, shutting out the distractions until the job was done.

It was over, he had failed and he should just give up. But it didn't happen that way. Instead he had grabbed an unsuspecting, and entirely useless, alternative.

He felt like a zombie as he led her through the streets. He felt nothing and his body seemed to be doing everything by itself. The collar did all of the work with keeping the Tropius-woman in line. It made her obedient and kept her quiet. Lionel just couldn't stop for too long. If he did, someone might be able to notice the tears welling up in her eyes. That, the collar couldn't stop.

Was he being followed? What was he going to tell Farin once he got back? Those questions didn't seem to matter, anymore. He just walked, trying to pretend that he had never failed.

He made his way towards the docks. The Raichu-boy had already found out that the base was there, but he didn't know where the entrance was. He also needed to convince the others that Lionel was a threat. That gave him some time and every second counted. He needed to get out of sight as quickly as possible. If he didn't…

But he didn't finish the thought and that zombie feeling came back again. Blocking the bad thoughts and keeping him focused. There was no turning back and his subconscious knew it better than he did.

He stuck to the main road, choosing to blend in rather than sneak through the shadows. It was around six o'clock and the sun wouldn't be setting for another hour, which meant that plenty of human Pokémon and their trainers walked the streets. If he walked with them, it wouldn't seem out of place. Most of them wouldn't give a trainer walking with a human Tropius a second glance. If he were slinking through alleyways, then it would be a different story.

But that made it easier for Shinobi to find him.

The human Ninjask was an expert at keeping himself hidden. He was fast and stealthy and it was remarkable how few people glanced up to the rooftops he used.

The boy hadn't made it far. Just a few turns off the main road was the farthest he had progressed. The daylight aided Shinobi tremendously. It forced Lionel to slow down and blend in. He was counting on using the crowd, but he hadn't planned on Shinobi.

Sticking to his instructions, Shinobi stayed back, avoiding notice. It was true that it would be a victory to grab the boy, rescue the Tropius-woman, and shake an explanation out of Lionel, but they could do better. If Lionel believed he had escaped without notice, he would indeed lead them back to the ones that were really in charge. Then they could rescue Aroma and have a true victory.

It was odd how the Tropius-woman showed no resistance. From what Shinobi understood, she had been kidnapped and was going with Lionel against her will. Why did it appear otherwise? But it was not Shinobi's place to become emotionally involved. He had found his target and was following orders. He trusted Silver's judgment and if this led to the return of Aroma then he had fulfilled his mission. That was all he needed to know.

Volt's prediction proved accurate. The boy stayed on course and headed straight for the rows of warehouses along the docks. He slipped down one of the alleyways, without looking back. He approached a small set of concrete steps leading to the side door of a warehouse. He flipped a switch along the railing and a panel opened next to the door. A small keypad appeared and the boy began punching in numbers. It was a long sequence and the boy had to stop and think about what he was entering before finishing. Finally, the lock on the door clicked and Lionel waited for his captive to walk in ahead of him before closing the door.

Soundlessly, Shinobi vanished, returning to his companions.

* * *

><p>AN: the tension builds as our heroes gather together to track down and attack Team Deus!<p>

This starts the first of a few chapters where Mark and Maple are going to be taking a back seat to some of the other characters. But, that's okay. They've done so much for so long, they kinda need a break. And everybody else could use some screen time, for that matter.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Have a good New Year and I will see you next week/year!


	36. Infiltration

Chapter 35

The group of four humans and five human Pokémon assembled outside of the warehouse that Shinobi had witnessed Lionel entering. They were eager and determined to track down Lionel and rescue their companions. They were prepared to do whatever it took and they felt ready for anything.

All of them, except for Maple. She was quiet and withdrawn. In fact, she hadn't made a sound since she had come to find Mark in Kim's hotel room. Mark found it unsettling, even disturbing to see her like this. Lionel would have to answer for that as well.

"Where did you say the switch was?" Silver asked. Rather than tell him, Shinobi ran his black-gloved hand along the railing and felt for the switch himself. Even though he had watched Lionel do it, it still took a few seconds for him to find it. Once he did, the panel next to the door flipped around and the keypad appeared.

Silver ascended the steps and peered at the panel. Kim and Volt followed him while the others stayed back. "You didn't see the code?" Silver asked his ninja.

Shinobi closed his eyes and shook his head, "my apologies. I should've been more alert."

"It's not your fault," Silver assured him as he considered what to do.

"Okay, Volt," Kim slapped the Raichu-boy on the back, "override it."

"What the hell do you mean 'override it'?" Volt snapped, "Do I look like a hacker to you?" His tail thrashed wildly and sparks arced across his cheeks in his indignation.

"I don't know," Kim snapped right back, "shock it, or something. Maybe you can fry the circuits and make the door open."

"Are you stupid?"

Ignoring the building argument, Lily meekly stepped forward and studied the panel.

"What do you think?" Silver asked his trainer.

"I need my laptop," Lily explained, "but it shouldn't be too difficult," she turned to her other human Pokémon, "Shinobi. Go back to the room and get my laptop. Hurry." Shinobi nodded, and then became a blur, moving towards the hotel.

"Well, that I didn't see coming," Volt grinned at Lily, dropping his argument with Kim.

"What?" Lily asked.

"_You're_ a hacker?" Volt was flabbergasted, "sorry, but you don't look like the type."

"I'm sorry," Lily hung her head. She always felt embarrassed when other people found out that she was good with computers. Nobody seemed to think that she should be. Just because she liked Pokémon and computers, it didn't make her any less of a girl.

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Volt put up his hands, "it's just different, y'know?"

"Yes, I know," Lily admitted, but the look in her eyes didn't brighten at all.

"Why don't we just break it down?" Tsunami pointed out the obvious alternative, "We know why we're here. Let's just bust some heads already."

"You want the entire base to know we're here?" Silver argued, "We don't know what's in there. If we can do it quietly, we should."

"They probably know we're here already, anyway," Tsunami scoffed, "no point in sitting around doing nothing."

"Nah," Volt shook his head, "I already took care of that." Volt pointed over their heads to the ruined camera. The main body of it had been obliterated, but the small nub at the end still rotated; a sightless eye still searching for danger.

"Alright, fine," the human Swampert gritted his teeth in frustration, "I just can't stand waiting while Fernelia's in there…"

Next to him, Eric was chewing on his thumbnail. It was a habit that he had given up after Tsunami and Fernelia had turned human, but it was back again. The normally mature and composed ten-year-old boy was starting to come apart without having Fernelia nearby. Tsunami needed action. Not just for himself, but for Eric, as well.

Mark and Maple stood on the fringes of the group. Mark had never been good at assuming an assertive role in groups like these. He found it easy to become a follower, without really meaning to, and let other people make the decisions. Although, he supposed that Silver, Tsunami, Lily and Eric had much more at stake than he did. Mark had volunteered to help, but it was _their_ friends and family that were on the line here.

He was also worried about Maple. She remained distant and he couldn't think of anything to say. It was taking her such a long time to recover from Lionel's attack on her. Mark had thought that she had been building up strength and confidence through training and battling, but it seemed like it didn't amount to anything after this latest attack. Maybe that was the real problem. She was scared that what she normally saw as strength was failing her. Did training really mean anything if it couldn't protect her from her enemies?

"Hey, it's okay," Mark put a hand on her shoulder, "you were tough enough to get away. And we're all together now, we'll keep you safe." He thought about taking her hand, but he was still confused about what that might lead to. In the end, he decided against it.

"Thank you," Maple whispered. But she didn't smile, like Mark was hoping she would.

Shinobi returned just a few minutes later with a laptop case slung over his shoulder. He presented it to Lily by kneeling on the ground and holding it out with both hands. Lily smiled gratefully and took it.

She unzipped it and began removing various cords and cables before taking out the laptop itself. She carefully examined the panel and each of her cords before selecting one. She powered up the laptop and connected it to a small slot in the base of the panel. She sat Indian-style on the ground as she focused on the laptop screen. A faint smile spread across her face as she set to work, typing rapidly before letting a pre-made program do the rest of the work.

"Geez, do you guys do this often?" Volt sneered.

"Hush," Lily whispered, calmly. Just a few minutes later, a satisfying click came from the door. "We're in," Lily announced cheerfully.

Silver pulled open the door and cautiously peered inside. The light of the sun coming through the door was the only help he had to see into the pitch darkness, but it was enough. The inside of the warehouse was exactly what the outside suggested it would look like. Row after row of cardboard boxes and boating equipment filled the building. It was just a storage station, a warehouse where equipment was stored until it needed to be shipped.

It was just a warehouse, like any other.

"Sinister, isn't it?" Kim smirked.

Nevertheless, Silver led all of them inside. He found a light switch near the door that activated a few lights. The massive space became only dimly lit, but it was better than the near-total darkness they had before. Mark was the last in and he gently closed the door without letting it latch. If they needed to make a quick retreat, Lily wouldn't have time to re-hack the door.

"Yeah, I'm looking for the evil stuff, and I'm not seeing it," Volt shook his head, frustrated. Another dead-end. They were wasting their time.

"There," Shinobi's sharp eyes caught something out of place and he darted over to it. The rapid flutter of his wings kicked up a dust cloud as he darted towards the center of the building. He ran his hand along the ground, tracing the edges of what appeared to be a hidden floor panel.

"Heheh," Silver chuckled, coming up to kneel next to Shinobi, "this is why I like you." He helped the human Ninjask trace out the rest of the panel. The outside rectangle was roughly five feet wide and twelve feet long. There was a split down the center, indicating that it was two separate panels that came together. Silver tapped on one of them and discovered it was metal. It was merely painted to look like the concrete floor around it.

"There must be a switch nearby," Kim deduced and began checking along the nearby walls. She found a circuit breaker with at least twenty different switches in it. She started flipping them at random. Most of them seemed to do nothing, or just added more lights to the room.

"Uhh…maybe this?" Volt pressed a large red button next to the panel and a metallic grinding sound began emanating from the center panels.

"Smart ass," Kim scowled, but then she smiled and went to stand with the others.

A few minutes later, the two panels swung outward and a service elevator rose into place. They might be a little uncomfortable, but all nine of them would be able to fit onto the elevator.

Grinning, Silver turned to look back at the others, "you guys coming?"

"Wait," Kim suddenly called out, "just a second." She removed a Pokéball that she had attached at her hip and motioned for them all to wait.

If they really were going to go through with this, they would need all the help they could get. She already felt guilty for leaving Sprinkle behind, but Volt wasn't the only human Pokémon she had with her.

Cotton, the small, timid Jumpluff-girl appeared in front of her with a flash of light. She stood just five feet high and she was petite in every sense of the word. She wore a small, strapless, sky-blue dress that stopped around mid-thigh. Her hair which was colored a similar shade of blue was thick and silky and reached down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were big and scared and never seemed to stop moving. Atop her head and on each of her wrists, a short stem topped with a large cotton-ball like flower extended, showing what she really was.

"Cotton," Kim said, kneeling down on the ground to get a bit closer to eye-level with her. Her voice was suddenly more commanding than Mark had ever heard before, "look at me."

"Uh, o-okay," it took a lot of effort for the small girl to force herself to calm down and focus on Kim. Even then, her eyes still quivered as if she was afraid of what might creep into her vision while she talked to Kim.

"Now, I know you're scared," Cotton nodded violently and everyone else in the warehouse knew it, too, "but we might need you soon."

"I don't wanna," Cotton shook her head, "can I go back in?"

"No, Cotton," Kim inhaled and exhaled deeply, "you can't. I'm serious. Our lives could depend on this."

Cotton gave a small squeak as the weight of this statement settled on her shoulders.

"Ugh…" Kim fought to control herself, "you're a Pokémon! If we need you to fight, then you should fight. Why do we have to do this every time?"

Cotton squeaked again, in response.

"Hey, Cotton," Volt knelt down next to Kim, his voice uncharacteristically gentle, "we won't need you to do much. Not with me around," his grin had a profound steadying effect on Cotton, "but we'll probably need to stay quiet and hidden. That's where you come in."

The small Jumpluff-girl paused and peered at Volt.

"That's right," Volt nodded, "if you can use Sleep Powder on some people then we might not have to fight at all. Do you think you can help with that?"

She nodded.

"Okay," Volt gently patted her head, avoiding the giant flower, "you can go back in until we need you, then." Cotton smiled and then promptly vanished. Volt turned to Kim who was wordlessly staring at the unoccupied space where Cotton had been standing, "you gotta be more gentle with her."

"Go to hell," Kim spat. Abruptly, she stood up and looked around at the others, "well? Let's get going."

For a moment, they all stared at her.

Mark couldn't believe it. At first he was even confused about what to make of what he had just seen. Cotton clearly wasn't a fighter. She lacked the attitude and the will to do it. She wanted to hide in her Pokéball and never fight. Was Kim forcing her to fight against her will?

Not that long ago Mark had wondered if it was cruel to make human Pokémon fight. Most of the ones that he had come across enjoyed fighting. It had been difficult to accept that Maple was one of them. But Cotton wasn't.

Had she hated it when she was a Jumpluff? Or did the instinct fade away once she evolved? Either way, she hated it now.

In fact, she seemed afraid of almost everything. Did that mean that Kim was being cruel in forcing her to do something she didn't want to? Or was it the right thing to do to get Cotton to come out and build up confidence?

Mark didn't know the answers to those questions and he didn't have time to consider them. He would have to add it to the growing list of Things to Think about Later.

"Well," shaking his head, Silver was the first to move, "let's go, then." He stepped onto the service elevator.

An instant later, Shinobi was on it with him. The others followed their lead. When they were all on, Silver pressed a green button on the elevator panel. The elevator lurched a bit before the metallic grinding started again and they descended down below the warehouse.

* * *

><p>"Damn, how far down does this thing go?" Volt asked no one in particular. The elevator had been moving steadily downward for at least a full minute. It was slow and needed some maintenance, but the elevator had carried them at least fifty feet below the surface and it still hadn't stopped.<p>

"Are you okay, Maple?" Mark tried again to get the old Maple back. He tried a more direct approach this time. They were running out of time and he needed her. Just like Kim and Volt had persuaded Cotton to fight, he needed to get Maple ready. They would need all the help they could get. And Maple was likely to be one of the strongest in the group.

"Huh?" Maple hadn't been paying attention, "oh, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Mark asked. Where was the real Maple?

"Yes, I'm sure," Maple nodded. She didn't really know how to explain to Mark what she was feeling. At first, it had been fear and panic. Lionel had nearly caught her and she felt like a fool for letting him get that close. She didn't like Lionel from the moment she had met him and yet she had let her guard down. That was stupid and she hated herself for letting it happen. She knew better than that.

She knew how to explain that. Like Mark had already said, what mattered was that she had gotten away. But what bothered her was what had happened after that. She had run to Mark and what had happened while she fled? Fernelia had been caught. Just for wanting to help out and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If Maple had been stronger, if she had fought back against Lionel and not run for help, then maybe Fernelia never would've been dragged into this.

Maple looked over at Eric and Tsunami. Tsunami was gritting his teeth and wringing his hands. He would probably tear Lionel limb from limb if he saw him. Eric was the opposite. He was becoming even more withdrawn than Maple. He had always been so calm and grown-up and now he was shaking like a leaf in a tornado. Maple desperately wanted to apologize, but she didn't think it would do much good. They had to get Fernelia back. It was the only way to repair their broken family.

She stopped to think about what their family was. Tsunami and Fernelia had assumed the role of Eric's parents, but Maple knew that that wasn't the whole truth. If they were his parents now, what had happened to his real ones?

The words "parents" and "family" left a sinking feeling in the pit of Maple's stomach when she thought about it. She used to know what those words meant, but evolving had changed that. All she had was Mark and even the two of them fought a lot. She tried to remember what having a family had felt like, but she couldn't.

But what about Eric himself? He was incredibly grown-up for being just ten years old. She remembered how Ian was thirteen. He was three years older than Eric, and yet it seemed like the reverse would make more sense. What had happened to make Eric grow up so fast?

She wanted to ask all of these questions and apologize to them. They had been so good to her. They had been kind, understanding and accepting, especially Fernelia. The least she could do was try to return their kindness. She couldn't apologize until they had rescued Fernelia. Once they accomplished that, then Maple felt like she could be herself again.

The elevator finally ground to a halt in a large rectangular room with a set of double-doors on the opposite side. Two guards, both human, stood watch outside. But they weren't paying attention. They had no reason to believe that whoever was coming down the elevator didn't belong there.

Shinobi was a blur. Before the guards could even look up, he was on top of them. He knocked the head of the first one against the wall, just hard enough to knock the man unconscious. The second had a split second to react, but he hesitated and wasted the moment. Shinobi was on top of him in the next instant. The human Ninjask knocked his head into the ground and the second of the guards was taken care of.

"Sweet Arceus," Volt swore, "we don't even need Sleep Powder!"

"That's not going to work every time," Silver admitted, reluctantly. Still, Shinobi's quick-thinking and ruthless tactics had probably saved them all. But Silver wasn't worried about getting in. He was worried about getting out.

"Everybody ready?" he asked. One by one, each member of the group said that they were. Maple was the last. But Mark was glad to see some of that old battle-lust shining in her eyes.

* * *

><p>AN: lots going on in this chapter. Shinobi's a beast, Lily's a nerd, and Kim may be too much of a bitch for her own good.<p>

I don't know if you can tell, but I've never been much a computer nerd. I'm a nerd in a lot of other ways, but for some reason I never put much effort into computers and hacking and all that. I can use the internet and that's been good enough for me, so far. Although, every now and then I'm tempted to try using Linux...

As always, thanks for reading!


	37. The Underground Complex

Chapter 36

Silver motioned for everyone else to stay back as he walked up to the door. On the other side, a long, white hallway stretched ahead for about thirty yards before branching into two different directions.

There were no guards in sight. He supposed that there really didn't need to be any guards on the inside. Nobody really expected anyone to get this far inside. Between the access panel and the hidden service elevator, it was even a little surprising that the two guards they had seen were there. Whoever these people were, they hadn't counted on being found.

Still, they were a group that had enough reckless determination to kidnap human Pokémon in broad daylight. Anybody that could do something like that without leaving a trail was not to be taken lightly. Silver's group needed to be cautious.

"Alright," Silver called the others into a huddle, "those guards won't be out forever. We'll have to move quickly. We'll split up to cover more ground and it'll be easier to hide if we stay in small groups." He looked at each of his companions, in turn, and mentally weighed their strengths and weaknesses. He only had a moment to decide, but the choice seemed obvious, "we'll split up our human Pokémon evenly. Mark and Maple, you stick with me, Shinobi and Lily. Kim, you and Volt look after Eric and Tsunami."

Silver waited for each of them to agree before continuing, "If you get into trouble, don't worry about us and just get yourselves out. Don't do anything too brave or stupid, just stay safe. We don't know what we're in for. We might not be able to do anything besides scout on this trip, anyway."

He doubted whether Tsunami and Eric were calm enough to make that kind of decision, but there was no time to take it back now. He had to trust them. They were all he had, after all.

Each of them considered Silver's orders. He had a point and he seemed to know what he was doing, but each of them found it difficult to trust a stranger with their lives. But splitting up the human Pokémon and keeping their forces even sounded like the best strategy. If they ran into trouble that would be the best way of getting them all out alive.

"Just be smart, guys," Silver gave a reassuring smile, "and we'll all get out of here together."

"Okay," Kim agreed, exiting the huddle, "you heard the man. Let's move."

Silver led the way, gingerly opening the door. He stepped as lightly as he could, careful to make as little sound as possible. The others followed him in single-file and mimicked his behavior.

There were several doors on either side of the hallway. As Silver approached the nearest one, on the left, he stayed low to the ground and close to the wall. He peeked in through the window in the door and saw a desk with a few filing cabinets along the wall. It was just an office. Thankfully, it was empty.

He motioned to Shinobi to check the others. The human Ninjask darted ahead to each of them. The faint buzzing of his wings sounded a hundred times louder to Silver than should be possible. He hoped that was just his nerves. At last, Shinobi came to a stop at the final door and shook his head. They were all empty.

Breathing sweet relief, Silver continued moving the group forward again. He moved a bit faster this time, but remained careful not to make any noise. He came to the junction at the end of the hallway and peered around the corner while Shinobi did the same on the opposite side. Each side went back for another ten yards before veering off. The hallways led off in the same direction as the entranceway, deeper into the complex.

Both of the adjoining hallways were empty. So far, so good.

Silver motioned Kim up to him. Crouching low, she moved past the rest of the group and came up to Silver.

"You take the right, we'll take the left," Silver whispered and Kim nodded without argument. She crossed to the opposite side and motioned for her group to join her. Volt, Eric and Tsunami joined her while Shinobi, Lily, Mark and Maple grouped together behind Silver.

"Good luck," Silver mouthed. Crouching low and sticking to the inside of the hallway, he led his group away and out of sight.

With his disappearance, Kim suddenly realized the weight of the responsibility he had given her. Feeling the blood drain from her face, she looked back at her charges. Volt, Tsunami, and Eric; a Raichu, a Swampert and a ten-year-old boy. One could've hoped for better. Still, they were all ready for a fight and would be more than happy to just start tearing down walls. She couldn't say the same for the others. Especially with Maple's eerily quiet attitude, at the moment.

"Well, let's do this," she whispered. She tried to sound encouraging, more for herself than the others.

She walked on the balls of her feet, afraid that the slightest noise would send alarms blaring throughout the place. The inside of the complex wasn't being watched the way that the outside had been. In fact, security felt a little lax. Not that she was complaining.

Kim found herself wondering how they could've built a place like this. Himitsu Island hadn't been very developed until after the first tournament had been held. How could they build an underground base like this without anyone noticing? More importantly, who could have funded such a project?

But she brushed those thoughts away. She needed to focus. Her stomach was already doing somersaults as she crept forward through the hallway. She needed to calm down.

Suddenly, she heard something coming from up ahead. The hallway they were in turned again about ten yards ahead of her. Around the corner, the faint sounds of talking and laughing drifted towards them.

Kim froze and listened to the sounds, straining her ears to pick up any useful details. The seconds stretched into minutes as she listened, but she started to relax just a tiny bit. Thankfully, the sounds weren't getting any closer.

She waved for Volt to come with her, but instructed Eric and Tsunami to stay put. Her and her human Raichu snuck forward, straining to hear every nuance of the talking and laughing as they came closer.

Edging forward just enough to see with one eye closed, Kim peered around the next corner. About twenty yards ahead of her, she saw a large open doorway with some slightly brighter light filtering into the outer hallway. As she crouched there, she managed to pick out what sounded like clinking silverware.

It was a cafeteria. She suddenly remembered that it was about seven o'clock. She realized that most of the base was on a dinner break. Suddenly thinking about food, she realized that she hadn't eaten yet. But, on the other hand, if she ate anything, she was liable to throw it up from nerves alone.

A cafeteria. Breathing deeply, she didn't know whether this was good or bad. On the upside, most of the base was localized in a single room, leaving the rest of it understaffed and unprotected. On the other hand, Kim's group now had the misfortune of taking the path with the most resistance.

She had no way of knowing what was down the rest of this hallway. Suppose the prison cells were just around the next corner? They could turn around and retreat without being noticed. But they weren't finished. The worst part was that if they tried to cross now, they would surely be spotted.

Kim turned and frowned at Volt. The Raichu-boy frowned back and shook his head. They couldn't risk it. The two doubled back to join the waiting Eric and Tsunami.

"Well?" Tsunami whispered harshly.

"It's no good," Kim shook her head, "there's a cafeteria filled with them, up ahead. There must be at least twenty people in there."

"So?" Tsunami argued, "We can fight them."

"Not if they all have Pokémon," Kim explained, "we'll just get swarmed. We can't take on that many at once."

"What about Cotton?" Eric suggested, "Can't she put them to sleep?"

But Kim shook her head again, "I don't think she can cover the whole room. Somebody will get away and sound an alarm. Then everybody who isn't in there will come running, too."

"Dammit," Tsunami moved to pound his fist into the floor, but he stopped himself, "isn't there anything we can do?"

Kim struggled to come up with a plan. A distraction was what they needed, but what would draw the attention of the entire cafeteria without making anyone suspicious? She racked her brain for solutions, but there were none.

That was when they all heard the sounds of fighting coming from the other direction.

* * *

><p>Mark and Maple stayed close behind Silver and Lily as they made their way through their half of the complex. Silver permitted Shinobi to scout ahead. The silent ninja was perfectly suited for situations like this. He could move quickly and almost soundlessly and he was strong enough to handle most threats that might appear.<p>

As he watched them, Mark started admiring Lily's group. They complimented each other well and each had their own role to perform. Silver had come to them begging to leave the group, but Mark no longer believed that that was what he wanted. The human Absol cared about them. Otherwise he wouldn't be here.

He looked at Maple, on his right. She was finally starting to come around. The fear was all but gone from her eyes. That was good. After all, they might need her.

Silver started to pick up speed. Shinobi was already well ahead of them and there was still no sign of an enemy. But Silver remained cautious. The deeper in they went, the more difficult it would be to get out. Above all, he was afraid of being cornered.

The offices of the building stopped shortly after the initial split. They were soon passing by the second of a pair of laboratories. Each was filled with glassware and all sorts of expensive looking equipment. Only the second one had a solitary scientist working inside, but it was easy to crouch under the outside windows and slip past him.

A short distance ahead of them, Shinobi came to a stop at another branch-point. The path straight ahead began to slope downwards before becoming a staircase that wound downward, deeper underground. The one on the left stretched past the same laboratory and another office before turning right again.

"Which way?" Mark asked as the group huddled together under the corner of the laboratory. Silver and Maple both had a strange look on their faces as they looked straight ahead. Maple sniffed the air and then recoiled, shrinking away from the path ahead.

"Not that way," she whispered, shaking her head rapidly.

"Why not?" Mark asked, "What's down there?"

"Never mind," Silver hissed, "but, she's right. Not that way." The three human Pokémon turned down the left hallway, as if they couldn't leave fast enough. Mark stared at Lily in confusion, but she only shrugged. Whatever was down there, the human Pokémon wanted nothing to do with it. Mark hoped that it wasn't the way they were supposed to go.

He had to rush to catch up with the others and Lily nearly fell behind. But as they rounded the next corner, an all-too familiar face greeted them.

Lionel stood thirty yards ahead of them. He was too far away for Shinobi to take him down without a fight. But the anger Mark felt upon seeing the traitor told him that he wanted a fight more than what he had realized.

Without any orders, Silver and Shinobi were already moving, closing the distance fast. Double-fisted, Lionel pulled out two Pokéballs at once and called out for his allies. A human Seviper and Lanturn appeared between Lionel and his attackers, making the two hesitate.

The Seviper was a menacing, pale-skinned girl with short, greasy black hair. She wore a tight, leather cut-off top and pants that was dotted with yellow and purple markings. A forked tongue poked in between a pair of curved fangs in her mouth and a bladed serpent's tail extended behind her. She crouched low to the ground, as if the instinct to slither remained with her.

The Lanturn wore a yellow mask across his eyes and sported what looked like a light-blue wet suit. A strange glowing orb stretched out from the top of his head, just like a normal Lanturn. He also had a short finned tail, which he wagged ceaselessly, still attempting to swim.

Maple knew by looking at them what they were. The nurse at Himitsu's Pokémon Center had warned them of trainers that attempted to lock their human Pokémon in the transition stages after a Pokémon's evolution into a human. Such trainers believed it offered greater power to lock them in that state where their animal-like instincts were the strongest. Lionel was one of those trainers. It made her sick.

"Poison Tail," Lionel snapped his orders, "Thunderbolt." The Seviper darted forward for Silver, crouching low to the ground, while the orb extending from the Lanturn's head began to glow brighter as it gathered electricity.

"Protect!" Lily called out. Both of her human Pokémon stopped their advance. They each held up their hands and a transparent golden shield of energy appeared around them. The Seviper swiped at Silver with her tail, but the blow bounced off of the shield and was easily deflected, knocking her back as if she had struck metal against metal. The stream of electricity that the Lanturn fired dissipated before it could reach Shinobi, who would've been felled by the blow if it weren't for Protect.

"Dammit!" Lionel screamed, "Again!"

"Suckerpunch! X-Scissor!" Lily switched to offense. Protect was powerful, but it wouldn't last forever. Silver darted at his opponent, punching her in the stomach, but it didn't have much effect and the Seviper retaliated by slashing across his chest. Lily's human Absol managed to pull back just enough to keep the blow from causing too much damage, but the pain was still highly intense. His vision started to blur and he cursed the fact that the snake had managed to poison him.

Shinobi crossed his arms and a pair of short blades extended along the length of his forearms. He slashed in an X-shaped pattern across the chest of the enemy human Lanturn. Unfortunately, his results weren't much better than Silver's and the Lanturn barely reacted. It was almost finished charging its next attack and Lionel grinned. With Shinobi gone, the rest of the fight would be much easier.

"Leaf Blade!" Mark added his strength to the battle. Maple appeared next to Shinobi, with the Red state flaring in her eyes, and finished what he started. She slashed directly down the center of the human Lanturn, splashing blood onto all three of them. The Lanturn staggered back and dropped to one knee, defeated. Lionel had no choice but to recall him.

The three allies converged on the remaining opponent and brought her down with little resistance. Even with her type advantage over Maple and Shinobi, it wasn't enough to protect her.

Lionel fumbled for another Pokéball, but Silver never gave him the opportunity. Grabbing the kid by the collar, he lifted him off of the ground and slammed him into the wall.

"Good to see you, again," Silver hissed through gritted teeth. The poison was already getting stronger, but he ignored it, "I've got a lot of questions for you, but I'm kind of in a hurry here. So, I'm gonna let you go as long as you help me out."

Lionel tried kicking him, but the human Absol barely felt any pain from the weak attack. Silver slammed Lionel into the wall again, reminding him who was in charge.

"Now, let's be calm about this," Silver smiled at the kid. He could break him in half, if he chose, "all I want to know is where you're keeping the human Pokémon that you've kidnapped. Do that and you can walk away."

Lionel raised a trembling finger and pointed in the direction he had come from, "that way. Take a left and you'll see it on your right."

"Thank you," Silver grimaced as he felt the poison eat away at him, "Shinobi. Go check it out." Shinobi was gone in a streak of black and gold. He was gone for no more than fifteen seconds before he came back.

"He's telling the truth," Shinobi reported, "there was a guard, but I took care of him."

"Today's your lucky day, Lionel," Silver grinned as his gaze stabbed into Lionel, "get the hell out of here before I change my mind." Another wave of poison passed through him and he coughed a small amount of blood into his hand as he released the boy.

Without any more need for caution, Silver ran down the hall, Lily close behind. Mark and Maple lingered behind for a little bit. Mark debated if letting Lionel go was really the best idea. He was still furious at the blond-haired boy, but as he looked at him trembling on the ground, he felt a pang of sympathy.

But he couldn't forgive him. At least, not right then. He turned away from him and followed after the others.

"I'm sorry, Mark," Lionel's voice trembled and Mark looked back at him, "I didn't want to do all this. It's not my fault. We're friends, right?"

Mark shook his head.

"I don't know if we ever were friends," Mark left him behind and hurried to catch up with the others.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm starting to feel kinda bad for Lionel. He's terrible at being evil and is really just in way over his head. And now he's hurt the people that he should've been friends with just about beyond repair.<p>

And look at that! A three-on-two battle! Not quite a double-battle and not quite a triple battle, but it's not bad. It's short though, which is kinda disappointing. I'll have to try again later.

Anyways, thanks for reading!


	38. We're Here for You

Chapter 37

Just a few minutes before Silver and the others had infiltrated the base; the Charmander-girl was peering through the window of her room. She looked out at the boy that she now knew as Lionel with an intense curiosity. He seemed different, somehow. It wasn't in a good way, either. He looked distant and distracted. His eyes didn't have their usual energy and his grin was nowhere to be seen.

A human Tropius was at his side with another one of those weird collars around her neck. Charmander hadn't seen them until just a few weeks ago. Now they were everywhere. Every new human Pokémon that came in had one on. It was strange, the Tropius-woman was crying.

"Miss Aroma," she called through the wall, "they're bringing in somebody new!" She bounced up and down a few times with excitement. Somebody new to tell stories and help think of names!

"Oh, no…" Aroma's voice was tragic, "not another one."

"It's okay," Charmander assured her, "now we'll have help with coming up with names."

She watched intently as the blond boy handed over some sort of remote control to the guard. The guard took it and after exchanging a few more words with Lionel, the boy departed, leaving the Tropius-woman behind. Then the guard started pushing a few buttons on the controller and the newcomer walked obediently to another room. He had picked the room that was on the other side of Aroma.

_Rattata_, Charmander mentally swore. The Tropius-woman was going to be placed in the room that was two doors down from her own, next to Aroma. She wouldn't be able to talk directly to the newcomer, but at least Aroma would be able to hear her.

She watched the guard for just a little bit longer. He walked back to the desk on the opposite side of the room. Then he pulled out a label-maker and stuck one on the controller that Lionel had given him. He pressed a few more buttons on it before opening a drawer and dropping it inside.

There was a lot of other stuff in the drawer, but the most important things were the controllers for Aroma and the newcomer. It was also where they kept Charmander's Pokéball. She didn't know why they kept it here. Maybe Master Vince didn't want to lose it and they could keep it safe. That way the Charmander-girl would always be right near her Pokéball, even if they didn't use it.

There were also a few other empty Pokéballs in that drawer. Charmander had seen them do it before.

There was a problem with the Pokéball system. If a Pokémon remained outside of and away from their Pokéball for long enough the Pokéball began registering that it was empty. Then you could transfer a previously captured Pokémon to a new Pokéball. Of course, anybody who knew anything about stealing Pokémon knew that. Without it, stealing Pokémon, without also taking their Pokéballs, was outright impossible.

Naturally, she had asked before what Team Deus needed to steal Pokémon for. The answer didn't make much sense, especially after hearing Aroma's stories, but Charmander hadn't really expected to hear the truth anyway.

One of the scientists, Michael was his name, had told her that they weren't really stealing Pokémon. For one thing, they were only after human Pokémon. And they didn't steal them, but they rescued them. Michael said that a lot of human Pokémon don't like their new lives with their trainers and wanted to break away from them. But they couldn't help themselves. So, instead, Team Deus rescued them, gathered them together and gave them a real home.

Charmander thought about asking why she never saw one of her old roommates after they had been transferred to a new Pokéball, but she thought better of it. Sometimes asking questions made them discipline her.

Aroma and the newcomer were already talking to each other. Charmander couldn't quite make out everything they were saying, but it sounded like the Tropius-woman was really upset. She didn't pity herself, but she was really worried about some people that were still outside.

In any case, Charmander was happy to have a new friend, even if she couldn't hear her. She would have to have Aroma introduce her at some point.

A few minutes later, Charmander heard the faint sounds of fighting coming from down the hallway. It was over quick, but she was almost positive that she had heard it.

"What was that noise?" Aroma's faint voice drifted through the wall, "did you hear that?" She sounded excited, even hopeful. But the Charmander-girl wasn't so sure this was going to be pleasant.

The guard slowly stood up to check on the disturbance. Charmander watched him closely as he edged forward out into the hallway. A split second later, the girl jumped as a black and gold blur rammed into the guard and he was knocked unconscious by a human Ninjask.

Crouching on top of the guard's unmoving body, he scanned the room with insect-like movements. Then he was gone as quickly as he had appeared, leaving the others alone, again.

_What's going on?_ Charmander wondered. She suddenly started to feel afraid. Somebody was attacking Team Deus.

Her thoughts came in a frantic, disjointed rush. What could she do? She had never seen anything like this happen before. If the guard was knocked out, who else could protect them? What if these intruders had come to take them all away? What if they had come to take her away from Master Vince?

Just a few seconds later, a human Absol followed by two other human Pokémon and two regular humans entered the room.

Who were these people?

* * *

><p>Lionel huddled where he was for a minute that felt like an hour.<p>

Everything was falling apart. He had missed getting Maple and they had followed him back to the base. There would be no escape now. He had screwed up beyond repair. There was nothing that he could do to fix it.

He started to cry.

He hadn't cried since he was little, but he did now. Never in his life had something gone so horribly wrong. Even if he ran, Farin was going to kill him. And that wasn't even the worst part…

A shadow cast itself over Lionel as a figure stood over the boy.

"I told you that you didn't know what you were doing," Cal stared down at the pathetic kid. He was no longer amused by Lionel's failures. It had gone too far. Now, it was just pathetic and hopeless.

"How did-"

"How did I know?" Cal was more than happy to explain what led him to find Lionel crying in the hallway of the Himitsu Island hideout, "It's easy. I followed the people following you," he paused and waited for Lionel to lift his head, "I knew you would screw everything up. So, I followed you and waited for you to do it. After that, it was easy to follow the others. You see, they're amateurs, just like you are. They just have better human Pokémon."

None of those words offered any comfort to Lionel, but that wasn't really what Cal was after.

"Look, kid," Cal crouched down in front of Lionel, "I knew you were going to screw up, and I'm betting that Farin knew too. We gambled on you and it didn't pay off. It's not as big of a deal as you think."

"Huh?" Lionel stared at Cal, "they're in the base! What could be worse than that?"

"Damned if I know," Cal shrugged, "but Farin's got some sort of plan up his sleeve. He let it get this far, after all."

"I thought you hated Farin?" Lionel couldn't help but asking. To his knowledge, Cal hated everybody but the head of Team Deus. And Cal only respected him because he terrified Cal. Lionel had never met him, but he wondered how terrible a person needed to be to scare Cal…

"I do hate Farin," Cal nodded, "but I'm not going to get my hands dirty unless I have to. I already sounded the alarm, that's enough for me," he stood up to leave, but when Lionel didn't move, he extended a hand, "come on, let's get you out of sight. With your reputation, they'll probably rip you apart if they find you."

Lionel stared at his hand. There was no question, he had screwed up. But Team Deus wasn't punishing him for it. He was still welcome with them.

Or could he walk away now?

This wasn't the life he wanted for himself. How could any Pokémon trainer actually want a life like this? But, like it or not, here he was. Now this colossal failure was offering itself as an excuse to turn tail. He could just blame himself for the failure and run away from the horror and abuse of Team Deus. But where could he run to?

Suddenly, footsteps began echoing down the hallway. Someone was running towards them. Someone who had overheard the fight…

"Last chance," Cal grinned.

Reluctantly, Lionel took Cal's hand. What other choice did he have?

* * *

><p>Silver thought he caught a glimpse of bright red hair in the far left window, but it was gone before he could be sure.<p>

The holding area wasn't exactly what he had pictured. The mental image he had prepared included dank, dark and rotting iron cells designed to crush the spirit of anyone held inside. Instead, he was looking at a set of five doors that led to five different cells that were more like patient rooms in a psychiatric ward.

Not wasting any time, he went to the door directly in front of him and examined the electronic lock on it. He looked back at the desk and the unconscious guard as Shinobi, Lily, Mark and Maple followed him into the room. There had to be a keycard…

"Check the-" another wave of pain passed through Silver as the poison in his system attacked him from the inside, "check the guard for a key." Mark checked the guard's pockets and came up with three separate cards, which he handed to Silver.

"Silver?" Aroma's voice drifted out of the second door, "is that you?" Her soft voice was music to Silver's ears and her gentle face appeared in the window a moment later. At the same time, Silver's anger flared again when he recognized the fear in her eyes.

"Aroma!" Lily cried and rushed forward to the door, "get her out! Get her out!"

"I'm on it," Silver assured her as he fumbled through the keycards. He would have to try them all.

But Maple sped up the process by slicing through the lock with her Leaf Blade.

Stunned, Silver stared at her for a moment as the door hung limply on its hinges. The Leafeon-girl beamed at him as though she had done nothing at all.

"Aroma!" Lily flung the door aside, nearly hitting Silver with it, and hugged her human Meganium, "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have left you!"

"No, no," Aroma patted the young girl's back in an attempt to soothe her, "it's my fault. I should have waited for you." She looked up at Silver, who tried to look cool and casual, leaning against the door-frame.

"Hello, Silver," Aroma smiled, "I'm glad to see you didn't run away."

"I couldn't leave with you gone," Silver remarked as he gestured to Lily and Shinobi, "these two are crazy enough _with_ you around." Aroma's smile broadened at him and she ignored the obvious lie.

Mark left the group to their reunion and examined the other rooms. The two on the far right were empty, but the one in the middle…

"Fernelia!" Mark exclaimed, "Maple, I need your help." Maple was by his side in an instant and she destroyed the lock just as easily as the first. Mark opened the door and Fernelia stood up to greet them.

"I knew you'd come," she smiled warmly despite the dull red color in her eyes, "Are Eric and Tsunami with you?"

"Yes," Mark answered, "they're in the base. We split up to look for you. We need to find them and get out of here."

"Of course," Fernelia nodded, "lead the way." Exiting Fernelia's cell, Mark noticed Silver shudder and cough up another mouthful of blood.

"You're hurt," Aroma walked up to Silver, "what's wrong?"

"Ugh...poison," Silver admitted, "from that damned Seviper."

"Stay still," Aroma instructed. She held her hands so that her fingers lightly brushed against Silver's chin. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, Aroma's body shook slightly and she cringed in pain.

"What's wrong?" Silver panicked and held Aroma's shoulders. Too late, he noticed the strange collar around her neck.

"It's…it's…" Aroma strained to speak, pointing at the collar.

"Shinobi!" Silver called to the human Ninjask. With absolute precision, Shinobi cut through the collar with X-Scissor. It slipped off of Aroma's neck and fell to the floor with a metallic clang.

"Thank you, Shinobi," Aroma smiled, grateful to have the collar off.

Silver once again coughed and shuddered, even more violently this time. He was getting weak. He needed help.

"Here," Aroma picked up where she left off, placing her hands underneath Silver's chin again. This time, a bright pink vapor began wafting out of her hands. The smell of lilacs and lilies and roses and hyacinths and a dozen other flowers began to fill the air. Silver closed his eyes and inhaled and exhaled deeply. He had smelled Aromatherapy many times before, but he never got tired of it. The poison inside his body seeped away as he breathed in that wonderful scent.

"How do you feel?" Aroma asked as the tiny pink cloud began to dissipate.

"Much better," Silver nodded, "thank you."

During the display, Maple noticed that Lily was looking away. While everyone else was watching as Aroma healed Silver and the sweet scent of wildflowers filled the room, Lily did not. In fact, she seemed embarrassed to even be in the room. Why was that?

"Better get that collar off of her, too," Silver nodded to Fernelia. Without waiting for confirmation, Shinobi disabled Fernelia's collar, as well. Mark was stunned by how quickly and effortlessly he had done it. Fernelia never even had the chance to protest. Mark hated to think what it would be like to face Shinobi in a Pokémon battle…

"Wait," Maple's ears suddenly stood on end, "what's that sound?" Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to listen. Soon they could all hear the soft thudding of someone running down the hallway. Someone was coming towards them.

Shinobi was the quickest to act. He rushed to the door and looked out in the direction that they had come from. The sounds were getting louder all the time.

But a moment later, he discovered that it wasn't an enemy, but it was their allies. Kim rounded the corner followed by Volt, Tsunami and Eric. Without a word, Shinobi dashed back into the holding area, leading the other half of the group inside.

Kim and Volt skidded to a stop, but Tsunami and Eric didn't let up until they were both embracing Fernelia. Tsunami thanked Arceus over and over again while Eric broke down into tears of joy at finding his mother. Their family was reunited again.

"We heard fighting," Kim panted, "are you all alright?"

"Better than alright," Silver assured her, "but we need to get the hell out of here."

"Silver, wait," Aroma spoke up, "we need to take the other girl with us. We can't leave her here."

"What other girl?"

Maple was the closest to the door leading to the last cell. She looked in through the window. Sure enough, crouched in the corner of the cell was a small Charmander-girl. She looked afraid, but it wasn't a fear that suggested that she was weak. It was more accurate to say that her fear was giving her strength. As if she were a cornered animal that was ready to fight to the death.

Maple sliced off the lock and let the door hang loosely. Aroma opened it and stepped through.

"You can come out now," Aroma spoke softly, "these people are our friends. We're escaping."

"You're leaving me?" the Charmander-girl's eyes narrowed at Aroma, "fine, then go. I don't need you anyway! It's not like it's the first time somebody's left!"

"You won't come with us?" Aroma asked, baffled by this unexpected reaction.

"I'm waiting for Master Vince," the girl snapped at Aroma, "he promised he would come. I have to see him again."

"But…" Aroma couldn't think of what to say, "But…he's not going to come."

"YES HE IS!" the girl screamed at Aroma. The fire at the end of her tail flared brightly, causing the others to look away.

Wounded by the Charmander-girl's harsh rebuke, Aroma stepped back. She had thought that she was becoming friends with the girl, but now it amounted to nothing. She couldn't come between the girl and her trainer. That bond was too strong, especially if she had been his first Pokémon. What could they do to convince her to leave?

"Who's Master Vince?" Mark asked, stepping forward into the small cell. He didn't think about what he was doing. He just wanted some answers.

"My trainer," the girl answered, "he promised he would come back for me! I'm just here until he comes back for me!"

Mark bit the inside of his lip and thought. Something wasn't adding up. She _wanted_ to stay there. That must mean that she wasn't recently captured, like Aroma and Fernelia. In fact, she probably hadn't even been forced into her cell at all. This was home, for her. But who was this Vince person if he had left her here on purpose?

"What's your name?" Mark asked.

"I don't have a name," the girl's tail flared again, less harshly this time, "Master Vince never gave me one. I don't need to be anything other than Charmander." She knew it was a lie the instant she said it. Not having a name left a hole in her that needed to be filled. But she couldn't show any weakness in front of these strangers. Whatever they wanted, she wasn't going to give it to them.

"Okay, Charmander," Mark remained calm, "what is this place?"

"Why should I tell you?" Charmander hissed.

"We don't have time for this," Silver urged Mark.

"Just a minute," Mark replied, "I just want to know more about you and about your Master Vince."

The girl hesitated, wondering if sharing what she knew would in any way betray her trainer. But she decided that it couldn't hurt. Master Vince and the rest of Team Deus would undoubtedly be strong enough to defeat these people.

"This is one of the headquarters of Team Deus," Charmander answered, "Master Vince…works for them."

That simple statement said a lot. Now they knew who they were up against. This group of human Pokémon thieves had a name. But it was one that Mark didn't recognize. There had been others in the past, of course. Team Rocket had been the most famous, but even that group was long gone. This new group probably wasn't a far cry away from the others. But they were dealing in human Pokémon. That fact alone would make them much more dangerous.

Not only that, but if Charmander's trainer worked for this "Team Deus" then that would explain her reluctance to leave. Maybe he really would return for her. In which case, she was an enemy. But why keep her in a cell? Why not keep her in a Pokéball with her trainer?

"What do they do here?" Mark continued.

"I don't know."

"Alright," Mark paused. He considered what questions needed answering and which ones she could answer. Even as a willing captive, they wouldn't tell her much. Maybe they wouldn't tell her anything.

"How long have you been here?" he tried.

"I've been in this base for four days," the girl answered.

"Just this base?" Mark pressed, eager for answers, "have you been anywhere else?"

"Mark, there's no time for this!" Silver warned, "Leave her. We need to get out of here, now!"

"I've been with Team Deus ever since I turned human," the girl answered, ignoring Silver, "I don't know when that was, though. At least three months. You should listen to that Absol and go. Master Vince will destroy you if he finds you."

"Three months…" Mark reflected. Silver was right, they were running out of time. They had already been in the base for too long and they had gotten what they came for. They had to assume that Lionel was going to sound an alarm. Still, Mark wasn't ready to leave quite yet.

"When was the last time you saw Master Vince?"

The girl's eyes widened in shock at the new question. Her gaze lowered to the floor.

"About a month," she admitted.

At last, something clicked in Mark's mind. He knew what had happened and who this girl was. He immediately felt sorry for her.

"Is he in this base?" he asked.

"No…"

"Did he tell you when he would see you next?"

"No…"

"Does he train you at all?"

"No…"

"When was the last time you had a battle?"

"I don't know…" every new question made Charmander's heart sink. They were questions she should've been asking herself. Why hadn't she? She had seen everything that Master Vince and Team Deus had been doing, but it never bothered her. Now this strange boy was asking so many questions that she couldn't answer. What did it mean?

"When was the last time Master Vince talked to you?"

Charmander couldn't answer, right away. Her lower lip was quivering and she had dropped her gaze so far that she was now staring at the ground. She couldn't take what this boy was making her see. It was all true. But what did it mean? Why did Master Vince pay so little attention to her?

"Before I evolved," she answered, squeezing her eyes shut. She didn't want to see it. She didn't want to know. The truth was right in front of her, but it hurt to look.

A gentle hand settled on her shoulder. She looked up to see the boy kneeling in front of her. He was smiling. Ever since she had evolved, nobody had ever smiled at her. Not even Master Vince.

"I won't force you to come with us," Mark reassured her, "but if you do. We will not abandon you. I promise."

The girl without a name started to cry. Then Mark put his arms around her and hugged her. It was warm and comfortable in his arms. No one had ever hugged her before. She liked it.

* * *

><p>AN: and thus Mark earns his second human Pokémon.<p>

This scene turned out better than what I thought would happen. I thought maybe Maple would have to step in to convince Charmander to come with them, but Mark's naturally questioning nature took care of that one. Hurray for the main character!

Oh, and for those that wanted Lionel dead…yeah, sorry about that. If it's any consolation, he's not going to be doing anything for a while.

I don't really have any plans to kill any characters for a long time. I won't say that I'm not going to do it at all, but it's not going to happen in the near future. And if I'm doing my job right, you probably won't even see it coming!

Besides, Lionel's plotline isn't done yet. The guy still has two more human Pokémon we haven't seen and he's registered in the tournament. He'll be gone for a while, but he'll be back for you to love to hate all over again

I guess that's it, for now. Thanks for reading!


	39. Warped Power

Chapter 38

_Where the hell did that come from?_ Mark thought. He hadn't stopped to think about what he was doing until the Charmander-girl was sobbing into his shirt. He had acted downright…what was the word? Fatherly? No one was more stunned by this than Mark himself.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Kim asked from somewhere behind him.

Mark looked over his shoulder to the group crowded by the entrance into the Charmander-girl's cell. Kim snickered between the shoulders of Silver, Aroma and Maple. Silver was still frantic to get moving and he was making a vague hand-motion to hurry things along. Aroma wore a look that was a cross between happiness and hurt, as if she didn't know which to feel.

Maple was beaming at him with admiration and pride. Mark felt much less confused when he looked at her. He felt stronger.

Turning back to the girl crying in his arms, he put his hands on her shoulders. He eased her back and looked in her eyes.

"It's okay, you're safe," Mark assured her, "but we need to get going. We don't have much time," he paused before finishing, "do you know another way out?"

The girl shook her head, "there's only one way in and out. If you came in that way, that's how we need to leave."

"I see…" Mark shrugged, "alright, that's what we'll do, then."

"Finally!" Silver cried in exasperation, "Can we please get the hell out of here?" Mark felt like telling him off, but he decided it was better to hold back. They couldn't waste any more time, no matter how much he was worried about the Charmander-girl.

"You are going to come with us, right?" Mark asked for confirmation. The wet-spot on his shirt argued that he already knew the answer, but he still wanted to make sure.

"Yes," the girl nodded, "I'll come with you."

"What if we see Vince?" Mark asked.

It was a long time before she responded and Silver's agitation started to come back. "I don't know," she answered and hung her head, again.

Now Mark started to debate how he would feel if she went back to him. Of course, he wanted this girl to come with them. She had been hurt and abandoned by the person she had evolved for. But if he wanted her back, what difference did it make what Mark thought?

"Okay, never mind," Mark stood up and dismissed the matter, "we'll worry about that if we see him." Still a little bewildered, the Charmander-girl stood up with him.

"Alright, let's go," Mark turned and nodded to Silver.

Silver was off like a rocket. No longer worried about stealth, his strategy abruptly shifted to speed as he darted ahead. The others raced after him just as quickly. Only Maple and Aroma lingered behind with Mark and the Charmander-girl.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, Miss Aroma," the girl apologized.

"It's okay," Aroma sighed, "I just want you to be happy. No matter where that is."

Maple just kept wordlessly beaming at Mark. She moved closer to him and stayed within just a few inches of him.

"Come on," Mark directed the human Pokémon girls, "we'll get left behind at this rate." He started to run after the others. He made it to the door before the small Charmander-girl called out from behind him.

"Wait!" astonished that she nearly forgot, Charmander rushed forward and began rummaging through the desk drawer that contained all of the Pokéballs. At last, she managed to locate her own and she held it out to Mark.

"What's this?" he asked. The Pokéball looked perfectly normal. There were no special markings on it anywhere.

"It's my Pokéball," the girl explained, "they kept it nearby so I wouldn't need to be transferred to a new one."

"Are you sure it's yours?" Mark asked. The drawer had been filled with Pokéballs and they all looked identical. How could she tell?

But she answered his question by leaning forward and sniffing the Pokéball a few times. She nodded with total confidence and that was enough for Mark.

However, his belt was already filled with Pokéballs. Six had always been the limit for the number of active Pokéballs a trainer could carry. Mark didn't know the specifics, but the energy that went into containing a Pokémon interfered with others of its kind. Something about electro-magnetic repulsion made carrying more than six dangerous. At any rate, Mark knew the limit and he also knew that it would become dangerous if they were held close to each other.

Carefully holding Charmander's Pokéball away from the others, he swapped out the Pokéball containing his Heracross. He attached the new Pokéball in its place. As he drew the other back towards his belt, it began to shake in reaction to the presence of the others. A moment later, the repellence from the other Pokéballs became too much for it and it vanished. Hercules the Heracross was on his way back to Hayley's ranch.

That made it official. Mark was the proud owner of two human Pokémon.

Suddenly, an anguished cry that sounded like Tsunami echoed down the hallway.

Mark glanced at the others only briefly before running ahead. The other three were right on his heels as he ran.

* * *

><p>Silver was too weak to fight and he felt helpless as Volt, Tsunami and Shinobi squared off against the Team Deus scientist that stood in their way.<p>

The man had taken notice of Kim's group running past his laboratory and had decided to block their escape while reinforcements were summoned. He used only two human Pokémon that had been warped in the same way as Lionel's Seviper and Lanturn.

They faced a Vespiquen in a yellow and black bumble-bee striped dress that reached to the floor. Four semi-transparent insect wings fluttered out of her back making a distinct buzzing sound as she hovered off of the ground. Next to her, a young, male Zangoose in a white and red jacket waved its tail in fury. His pointed ears lied flat against his head as he snarled at his opponents.

With a quick order from Kim, Volt dropped the Vespiquen with a single, powerful Thunderbolt that made the thing screech in agony before collapsing to the ground.

The Zangoose proved to be the stronger of the two and it Slashed across Tsunami's chest. Tsunami growled in vicious anger at it as he prepared an attack of his own. Shinobi struck the human Zangoose in his side with an X-Scissor. Angered, it swiped at him blindly, but Shinobi was far too quick for it and he dodged with ease. Tsunami finished it with Scald, spraying a jet of steaming water from his mouth directly into the face of the human Zangoose. Throwing his hands up to cover his face, he screamed with a cry that clearly wasn't human.

The two opponents disappeared and the scientist that stood in their way had no choice but to let them pass.

It wasn't until the battle was already over that Silver looked back and saw Mark and the others run up to join them. He realized with a sharp pang of shame that he had left Aroma behind, the very reason he had come down here to begin with.

"Glad you're still with us," he said sincerely. In his urgency to leave, he had forgotten what was important. So much for being such a great leader.

"Sorry we weren't quicker," Mark apologized. Whether he had done the right thing or not, they couldn't afford to delay any longer. Frankly, he was surprised that there weren't any more guards. That scientist or even Lionel must have sounded an alarm by now. Where was everyone? But he didn't necessarily want to know what the answer was.

With the scientist dealt with and the whole group reunited, Silver resumed the dash to the entrance. They raced past the other laboratories and made their way forward without meeting any opposition. Silver expected some sort of flashing lights and blaring alarms to start going off at any second, but they never came. What did that mean?

As they rounded the last corner, where the initial path split had been, Silver skidded to a halt causing the others to bunch up behind him. On the opposite side of the hallway, a man in a lavender suit stood behind a human Mightyena crouched low the ground. He held two more Pokéballs in each hand and grinned widely at him. But Silver probably wouldn't have stopped running if it weren't for the five other Team Deus members standing behind him.

They each wore matching uniforms consisting of a silver shirt, black pants and a gold jacket. The silver and gold shirt and jacket shone and glittered like space-age suits in some bad science-fiction movie. If he hadn't been so terrified, Silver probably would've laughed out loud at them.

As a matter of fact, Kim and Volt did exactly that.

But Silver was far more concerned about the human Mightyena that was snarling at them. Short triangular ears and a dog-like tail extended from his head and tailbone. But it was the grey and black of his clothing as well as the triangular mark underneath his left eye that let the humans of the group identify exactly what kind of human Pokémon they were looking at.

Silver eyed the open hallway, branching to the right. It was the last turn and it was exactly the same distance away from the opposing side. Could they all make it in time?

"There you are," the man in the lavender suit greeted them, "I was wondering where you had run off to. Looks like you managed to find your friends," he looked at Aroma and Fernelia and his grin broadened, "that's fine. We don't really need them anyway." Then his gaze caught the small Charmander-girl clutching at Mark's shirt.

"Oh," he began, with no real surprise, "and you too? What would your trainer say?" he paused to watch it take effect, "what was his name? Ah, yes, it was Vince! I almost forgot and he's the master's son, no less!"

Mark looked down at her for confirmation. She looked back at him with an expression of deep regret. She hadn't meant to hide it from him. But Mark had no reason to think worse of her for doing so.

"That's right!" the lavender man tittered, "she wouldn't have gotten such special treatment if she wasn't such an important patient. And now you're going to throw all of our kindness away?"

The girl cringed and clung to Mark's shirt more tightly.

"Kindness?" Mark raised an eyebrow at the absurd statement, "she's coming with us because she wants to. You people abused and abandoned her. You can't treat somebody like that."

"Strong words, boy," the man taunted, "but can you back them up?"

"What do you people want?" Silver spat the question.

"Oh, it's simple, really," the man laughed, "we're Team Deus. And soon we will be gods."

"So? It's not like we haven't heard that before," Volt scoffed as he moved forward to stand next to Silver.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand just by telling you," the lavender man shook his head, "it's much easier to show you." He held up his hands and released two more warped human Pokémon in front of him.

The first was a skinny, female Dusknoir. She sported a loose-fitting grey hoodie with a jagged mouth-shaped yellow blotch and eye circles across the chest. Half of her face was obscured by the hood and the one visible red eye stared without feeling or expression at her opponents.

The second was a male Crobat. He wore an oddly colored light-purple trench coat as well as a dress-shirt and tie. Thin, bat wings extended from his shoulder blades and kept him hovering just a few inches above the ground. His eyes were yellow and he grinned at them with a row of crooked teeth at them.

"Before I destroy you," their trainer said calmly, "perhaps I should explain what makes these Pokémon so special," he paused to make sure they were listening carefully, "you see, so far you've only fought opponents whose transition has been delayed. However, it's very annoying to have to use Pokémon like that. After all, they are constantly growing weaker and will eventually complete their transformation. Once that happens, they're useless. But these three you see here are special."

Farin was incredibly pleased to see the look of anger and disgust on every single one of the human Pokémon in front of him. They knew by instinct what they were. Such insight always fascinated him. He wanted it for his own.

"These three will never finish their transformation," he finished his explanation for the humans, "these three will always be in perfect condition to tear you apart." Delight filled his eyes as he watched the fear grow.

"My name is Farin, fourth in command of Team Deus. Come, fight me," he invited, "I'll show you just how hopeless it is."

The weakened Silver was forced to step back. Instead, Shinobi and Tsunami came up beside Volt to face the enemy. Lily, Eric and Kim also stepped up to add their strength to their allies. The hallway was too small to accommodate any more of them. A three-on-three battle was all they had room for.

"Go," Farin commanded. His forces began moving without any orders and rushed to start the fight. The other three trainers shouted their orders and the human Pokémon moved to intercept the opponent.

Shinobi darted forward, flying low to the ground and aiming directly for the Mightyena. It would be an easy victory and make the rest of the battle much easier. But as fast as Shinobi moved, the enemy Crobat was quicker. It spat a revolting globule of thick, purple goo at the human Ninjask. The Sludge Bomb hit him squarely in the chest, exploding and sending the disgusting liquid splattering everywhere. Shinobi didn't make a sound, but he came crashing down at the feet of his opponent. Lily cried out in concern, but Shinobi did not get back up. Their strongest had been brought down with a single highly damaging attack.

The unscathed Mightyena launched forward and punched Volt full in the face with a devastating Suckerpunch. A streak of blood hit the wall and Volt struggled to stay standing after the blow. Barely able to stay on his feet, he managed to finish charging his Thunderbolt and the yellow lightning streaked from his body straight for the powerful Crobat. The blow should have brought him down, but after a few seconds, the human Crobat regained its balance in mid-air and grinned at them with its crooked smile again. It had clearly suffered a lot of damage, but it wasn't ready to go down just yet.

That task fell to Tsunami who fired a streak of super-cooled water at the Crobat. This time, he screeched an ear-splitting cry of pain as he tried to dodge too late and the Ice Beam caught his right wing. The wing turned solid as the water froze around it and the human Crobat crashed to the ground before falling unconscious from the intense pain.

The Dusknoir was the last to move and she retaliated against Tsunami. Only the human Pokémon were able to recognize Payback as she came up in front of Tsunami and connected into his mid-section with a devastating punching attack. Then Tsunami coughed up a mouthful of blood and reeled back, trying to recover from the unbelievable amount of damage done.

"Impressive," Farin taunted his opponents by complimenting them, "you actually managed to survive the first attack. Not bad at all."

"Holy Arceus…" Silver gaped at the display. Their side had been utterly devastated while the remaining two enemies were undamaged. Shinobi had gone down without a fight and it had taken two hits from attacks with a type advantage to finish the enemy Crobat. Volt and Tsunami were barely standing and it wouldn't take much to finish them…

Before he could think further, the Dusknoir and Mightyena were already coming back for more.

"Shit," Volt cursed under his breath. The Dusknoir melted into the floor and glided forward. She materialized right in front of him and punched him in the side of his head, knocking him into the wall. He groaned in agony and coughed up another mouthful of blood before passing out.

The Mightyena darted forward, on all fours, after Tsunami. But Maple filled the gap left by Shinobi and slashed at it with Leaf Blade. The blow caught him in his side and sent him rolling backwards, but no wound appeared.

Shaking his head, the human Mightyena snarled at her and out of his anger he switched his target to the Leafeon-girl. His mouth gaped open and Maple's eyes grew wide at the rows of sharp canine teeth as he prepared to use Crunch. Maple just managed to pull her arm up in time, but she cried out in pain as he bit into her. She managed to shake him off, but the worst of the damage was already done. Blood dripped from the small wounds on her arm and began to trickle down onto the floor.

"COTTON!" Kim screamed in desperation.

The tiny Jumpluff-girl appeared between the two enemy human Pokémon and her own allies. The ghost and dark-type human Pokémon dropped back before turning to deal with this new annoyance and snarled at her with inhuman malice. Cotton began to cower in front of them and she couldn't move.

"Cotton!" Kim called out, "you have to use Sleep Powder, now! It's the only way we're getting out of here!"

For a few terrifying moments, Cotton did nothing. Her eyes only got wider as she stood alone against enemies that were too powerful even for the best in their group. How could she possibly hope to defeat enemies like that?

"DAMMIT, COTTON!" Kim screeched, "DO IT!"

At last, Cotton understood. She rubbed the two cotton ball like flowers on her wrists together and blew air through her hands. A light violet pollen floated through the air towards the enemy Dusknoir and Mightyena. Slowly, their snarling stopped and their eyes began to close.

Silver didn't wait to see if they really were going to fall asleep. Screaming for the others to follow him, he dashed for the final corner and made a break for the exit. Kim and Eric each recalled Cotton and the injured Tsunami before they raced to catch up with them.

It wasn't until they were in the service elevator and rising towards the surface that Mark paused to catch his breath. He was stunned not to see any pursuit. Not a single member of Team Deus had chased after them. He sighed with only mild relief. He knew that this wasn't over.

Farin had let them go.

* * *

><p>AN: i wonder if Pokeballs cause cancer...i suppose that that's a comment for flamers. which i haven't had in a long time, actually...<p>

(my usual policy is to try to make fun of myself before other people get the chance)

And with that, thanks for reading!


	40. The Golden Storm Cloud

Chapter 39

Farin stood in place, watching as the group of young trainers and human Pokémon fled in terror from his power. Both of his own Pokémon had fallen asleep after the Jumpluff's unexpected appearance. Still, if he really wanted them he could've defeated them with ease. He still commanded two more human Pokémon that were just as powerful. But why waste the energy?

"The kid's upstairs," Cal emerged through the group of subordinates that Farin had assembled, "he still thinks you're going to kill him."

"So nice of you to join us, Cal," Farin turned to his top Hunter, grinning widely.

"Hey, it's not like you needed me," Cal defended his actions, "I figure the fewer of them that know my face, the better."

"Of course," Farin nodded, "I'm sure that's the reason." Cal felt a sudden urge to punch Farin in his fat face, but he held back. Everything that he believed Team Deus needed to be was changing right in front of him.

Cal was convinced that what Team Deus needed to do to survive was operate in the shadows. The famous Team Rocket had been successful for years by doing exactly that. Only once they started to operate in the open and display their power on a grander scale did things start to go wrong. They left themselves open to defeat after embarrassing defeat at the hands of a little kid.

Now Team Deus was going to walk that very same road and Cal couldn't stop them. This was going to be the beginning of the end. How much longer would it be?

"Did everything go according to your plan?" Cal asked.

"Of course," Farin acknowledged, "let them spread the word and bring back their best. Once one of the Four is brought before us, we can begin the real test."

"Wait, what?" Cal drew back in shock, "you want to fight one of the Four?"

"Why else would I let them go?" Farin asked, "This way they can search for help and bring back someone more worthy of our attention."

"That's your plan!" Cal couldn't believe it, "you're tempting fate, you moron! We spend half of our time working to avoid them and now you want to bring one of them here?"

"Don't act so shocked, Cal," Farin retorted, "we both know that the Four are the only real obstacle for Team Deus. If they're gone, we can do whatever we like."

"Well, maybe…" Cal decided to humor Farin and considered the idea. It was true that the Four commanded the strongest human Pokémon in existence. But what kind of power would it take for Team Deus to be able to defeat even one of them? Farin's current group might be on par with them, but Cal seriously doubted it. The Four had always been in a class of their own.

"I told you before, Cal," Farin continued, "we already possess strength beyond anything you've seen. Strength that makes these creatures look like harmless pets." He waved his hand, gesturing to his still sleeping human Pokémon.

But Cal shook his head, "you're playing with fire, Farin. Unless you're careful everything is going to burn down around you. When that happens, don't expect me to save you."

"Spoken like a man who only watches after himself," Farin scoffed, "but don't worry, Cal. You'll see that power soon enough."

* * *

><p>The sun had already set when the defeated group emerged to the surface. Silver, Lily, Aroma, Kim, Eric, Fernelia, Mark, Maple and the nameless Charmander-girl didn't stop running until they had reached Himitsu Island's Main Street that ran through the town square. With the docks and the Team Deus base well behind them, they each collapsed against the nearest building to catch their breath.<p>

"What…the hell…was that?" Kim panted.

"I don't know…" Silver shook his head, "but he's powerful, all right. Thank Arceus that Cotton came through."

"Yeah…" Kim agreed. She almost hadn't and they would've been killed. The timid Jumpluff-girl was at best a mixed blessing. What if she failed next time?

"He let us go," Mark pointed out to them, "I don't know why, but he could've chased us down if he wanted to."

"Yeah…" Silver agreed. He stood up straighter as he managed to catch his breath.

"What I want to know," Kim began, "is how in God's name did they manage to build something like that without anybody knowing? Who paid for all that crap?"

But none of them had an answer and they all shook their heads.

"But, still," Lily spoke up, "we got back Aroma and…" she had to pause to recall Fernelia's name, "Fernelia! We succeeded…didn't we?" As she looked around the forlorn group, she wasn't so sure.

But the two women smiled at her.

"Yes," Fernelia nodded, "you did. If it weren't for all of you, I wouldn't be standing here with my son." She put her hands on Eric's shoulders. The boy was already returning to his normal self. He was no longer the shaken, broken person he had been just half an hour ago.

"Yeah," Eric agreed, "we did it. Thanks, guys. There's no way we could've done it without you."

"Hey," Silver smirked despite the lingering pain from his previous battle, "what're friends for?"

"So…" Mark didn't want to bring it up, but he had to, "what do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" Silver asked.

"Well," Mark sighed as he came up with the words, "they're experimenting on human Pokémon. We _are_ going to put a stop to that…right?"

He looked around at each of them, but no one besides Maple and the Charmander-girl met his gaze. Even with Aroma and Fernelia back among them, they all felt too defeated. They each had risked a lot, even more than what they thought they were risking. Was he really asking them to do it all again?

"I'd like to say yes," Silver admitted, "but we can't. We're just not strong enough."

"You're giving up?"

"Not because I want to," Silver countered, "I'm just as pissed off as you, but we can't do anything here. They're way too strong. We only got out because we got lucky."

"What if we get help?" Maple asked, "I'm sure somebody will help us."

"The only people that have that kind of power is one of the Four," Kim explained, "if we can convince one of them to help us…I guess it's worth a shot."

"One of the Four…" Mark thought about it. Aurum, RiverofTears, EdgeoftheEarth and PureBlueSky, if one of them helped fight Team Deus, then it just might be possible to defeat them. He only knew Aurum, but the tired old man wasn't likely to help them. The Golden Trainer probably wouldn't care about their plight at all. Still, what other choice did they have?

"They're all recluses," Kim added, "getting one of them to help us won't be easy."

"Right…" Mark agreed. He didn't like walking away, but there was no other option, this time. They were all too weak to do anything on their own.

Mark sank down onto the ground, sliding his back along the building they had picked, facing towards the city. He felt weak and exhausted and defeated. They had rescued Fernelia, Aroma and the Charmander-girl, but it felt like they had lost more than what they had gained from their attack against Team Deus. They had been devastated in a battle and all Farin had been doing was warning them. It wasn't a serious fight. The next time, they wouldn't be so lucky.

As he sat there, the Charmander-girl edged closer to him, clinging to his arm. She had taken an unexpectedly strong shine to him. He had no idea why.

Maple sat down next to him, on the opposite side and leaned her head against his shoulder. She had healed herself with Synthesis and her arm no longer bled, but a dull pain still throbbed where Farin's Mightyena had bit her. Mark sighed at their comforting presence and leaned his head back.

As he did so, he felt a small droplet of water hit the middle of his forehead forcing him to wince and blink in annoyance.

"Well, let's get home, guys," Silver stood up to leave, "we survived. That's what matters. Let's just go home and lick our wounds."

The others slowly got up to follow him, but Mark, Maple and the Charmander-girl remained where they were. He was still too tired to move, just yet. Another few droplets hit his forehead.

"Hey, guys," he called the attention of the others, "was it supposed to rain tonight?"

"No," Kim said, shaking her head, but as she opened her palm and felt for it, she discovered that he was right.

"And what the hell's that?" Mark pointed over top of Mount Totetsu.

It was much too low to be a cloud, but Mark had no idea what else it could've been. A ring of golden smoke was floating around the tip of the mountain. Lightning arced from it down to the mountain itself. The cloud glowed brightly in the dark, night sky.

A few moments later, it started pouring.

* * *

><p>The distortion around the peak of Mount Totetsu was a necessary side-effect of the forces that gathered together at its peak. Lightning and thunder shook the area as the storm created by the rip in space-time began to gain strength. The storm heralded the coming of Dialga and Palkia.<p>

At the westernmost point of the cloud-ring, a blue-green light shone through the golden ring. A moment after the light's first appearance, a man came through. He descended, light as a feather, down onto the rocky side of Mount Totetsu. He was dressed in a dark blue robe that flowed down to his shins, tied off with a light-blue sash around his waist. Underneath it he wore a white shirt and dark blue pants that fit loose to allow for added mobility. His black boots as well as his gloves were adorned with pointed steel-grey armor. His hair was long and colored a similar shade of dark blue. Two pointed, steel horns extended from his head.

On the opposite easternmost point, a similar light shone through the clouds. This one was a deep shade of purple. The woman that descended was dressed in an ornately decorated purple and white kimono. Her shoulders were bare and a slit extended up the side of the kimono to the knee. Her deep violet hair reached down past her shoulder-blades. Like the man, her wrists and ankles were armored. However, the horns extending through her hair were less prominent and more stream-lined against her head.

Dialga and Palkia each strode forward in their human forms towards the other. They met in the center of the peak of Mount Totetsu, a small plateau that was only three square yards.

They hated each other. It was a hate that dated back millennia. But the circumstances were becoming too dire.

"I see that you still favor that form, Palkia," the man greeted the woman with no indication of its true intentions.

"As do you, Dialga," the woman returned, equally standoffish. The two spoke in an ancient form of the same language that humans used. They had learned it for the sole purpose of using it in their human forms, which they donned no more often than necessary.

The two stared at each other in stubborn hatred. Lightning and thunder sounded out in anger as the storm built up energy around them. But the two remained as they were, staring unflinchingly at each other. They would have remained that way if it weren't for the arrival of the third member of their council.

Racing up the side of the mountain, Suicune appeared, still in its Pokémon form. It bounded up to the two with both grace and beauty. As it arrived at the peak, it transformed into its human form to help ease the anguish of the other two. Dialga and Palkia despised their human forms, but it was necessary to avoid disturbing the human world that was so close by. If the two legends appeared simultaneously over a human settlement, the results would be total chaos. Even creatures as powerful as Dialga and Palkia had some sympathy for the lowly humans.

"Finally, you've arrived," Dialga glared at the much weaker newcomer.

"Yes, at last," Palkia mirrored Dialga and sneered at Suicune.

"Yes, lords," Suicune nodded and kneeled before the other two, "I apologize. I should have been present when you arrived." Suicune had no choice but to obey the laws imposed on it. Dialga and Palkia were far stronger Pokémon than it. Therefore, it was required to acknowledge that dominance. Suicune was just a servant of Ho-oh and the two legendary dragons were just as powerful as Ho-oh. Suicune spoke for Ho-oh, but the dragons would refuse to show it respect.

"Then let's begin," Dialga re-directed its scowl back at Palkia.

"Let's," Palkia agreed with a condescending smile at the corner of its lips.

"The situation grows dire," Dialga began, "It seems that Giratina intends to betray us."

"Agreed," Palkia nodded, "his blind partnership with the abomination known as Mewtwo is frustrating and pathetic."

There was nothing that either Dialga or Palkia knew that the other didn't. Discussing what they already knew was more of a formality than a necessity. But their deep hatred for each other prevented them from acting quickly on anything.

"The disturbances in the world increase as Mewtwo interferes with greater power than himself," Dialga continued, "powerful storms and climate shifts come about from his meddling."

"He thinks naught of the consequences of his action," Palkia added, "he only seeks power, no matter what the cost. He is a misguided fool."

"What do you intend to do, lords?" Suicune asked the two dragons.

They turned and glared down at Suicune as if it were a revolting insect, one that wasn't even a Pokémon. Ho-oh's emissary or not, it needed to show its superiors respect. But the two decided not to waste their energies and instead turned back to glare at each other anew.

"If Giratina truly intends to break our covenant of peace, then we will act accordingly," Dialga explained.

"Such treachery cannot be forgiven," Palkia confirmed.

"And what of Mewtwo?" Suicune added urgently, "if his intention is truly to destroy Arceus, then what will you do?"

Both dragons turned bodily towards Suicune and stared at it viciously.

"Mewtwo is nothing more than an abomination created by humans!" Dialga and Palkia screamed the words at Suicune in unison, "he is no threat to our power! Giratina is a fool and a disgrace to follow him!"

Suicune cringed and bowed forward. It placed its forehead against the ground and frantically apologized for disrespecting the two. Satisfied, the two dragons permitted Suicune to kneel again.

But Suicune no longer understood what was being discussed. This was not a council to organize against Mewtwo. In their pride and arrogance, the two dragons were ignoring the real threat. They were much more concerned with settling their grudge against Giratina than with Mewtwo's ghastly plans to destroy Arceus. Mewtwo was becoming too powerful to ignore, but they were doing exactly that.

"What of Ho-oh's position in this matter?" Dialga asked the emissary.

"Ho-oh remains neutral," Suicune confirmed, "no action will be taken in this affair. My only instructions are to observe and report what I see."

"And what of the others?" Palkia inquired.

Suicune humbly shook its head. "Lugia, Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem remain dormant. They each look after their own territories and do not wish to become involved. They view this as a matter solely between the two of you, Arceus, Giratina and Mewtwo."

"Typical," Dialga said with disdain. However, it selectively ignored the fact that it would have done the same.

"Useless," Palkia echoed with no less of a hypocritical attitude.

"Mewtwo is of no consequence," Dialga resumed the discussion, "However, Giratina has shamed himself and become a dog for that abomination."

"The dog will obey the master," Palkia once again continued Dialga's train of thought, "for now, we will wait and watch the master's movements."

"He still recovers from venturing into the Reverse World," Dialga added, "he is weak and will not move."

"Yes," Palkia confirmed, "it will take a minimum of nine more days for him to fully recover his strength."

"Nine days?" Suicune asked, "Such a long time…"

"The Reverse World is unfit for anything other than Giratina," Dialga explained.

"Mewtwo was fortunate to have even survived," Palkia finished.

"But if he has grown powerful enough to survive the Reverse World," Suicune couldn't help itself, "then what else is he capable of?" Realizing its error, Suicune immediately threw its face towards the ground and began asking for forgiveness.

"We are not underestimating Mewtwo," Dialga deduced Suicune's intentions.

"He is of little consequence," Palkia added, "our power far exceeds his own."

"It is Giratina who is the real threat."

"And we will prepare accordingly."

"We will wait until the proper time."

"When Mewtwo summons the dog here."

"Dismissed," the dragons concluded in unison.

Suicune lifted its head and watched as Dialga and Palkia ascended back into the golden cloud-ring. With their disappearance, the storm came to an abrupt stop and the cloud faded into nothingness. Suicune shifted back to its Pokémon form and left at a slow trot, heading back towards Kieru Forest and away from Mount Totetsu.

Nine days. Mewtwo would arrive in nine days.

The two dragons were blinded by their arrogance. They didn't want to believe that humans could create something that could challenge their authority. But that was exactly what Mewtwo was. And he wasn't the only symbol of the human's power over Pokémon. Their very name was a symbol of that subservience. Dialga and Palkia were old, blind fools to underestimate power like that.

However, Suicune had been watching humans for a very long time. It believed in them. They were capable of more than seeking destruction and domination. They were also kind and compassionate. Ho-oh believed in them as well.

But throughout the council, Dialga and Palkia had ignored the one thing that none of them could control. They had ignored the very reason Mewtwo was coming to this island.

Mount Totetsu itself was a barrier against intruders. Like Palkia's Woods, it had a different name. It was called Mount Dialga, where time did not always flow in one direction. Dialga and Palkia each had their own measures of defense in place to guard the secrets that Himitsu Island held.

But when Mewtwo came, he would brush those defenses aside and seek out the power that would give him the strength to challenge Arceus.

For it was deep within Mount Dialga that Jirachi slept.

That was the true nature of Mewtwo's schemes. He planned to force Jirachi awake and grant his wish for power over Arceus. If he accomplished that, he would be unstoppable.

On its way down the mountainside, Suicune paused. It considered everything that happened and everything that might still come to pass. It looked out over the lights coming from the town. The evolution of the human Pokémon on Himitsu Island had been no accident. The closeness to Jirachi made the transition easier. Because even as Jirachi slept, it could still grant wishes to its children.

The Children of Jirachi were so close to their creator and none of them had any idea.

* * *

><p>AN: so, this week starts off with the conclusion of the first Team Deus story arc and an epic meeting between Dialga, Palkia and Suicune. It's nice to get back to the legendary plotline. It's time to reveal exactly what's going on. Nine days is going to be a long time, though. I'm thinking of doing a short chapter dedicated to Mewtwo's rest period. I have an idea that could be cool, but I'm not fully sure when I'm going to do it, yet.<p>

Thanks for reading!


	41. Back to Life Above Ground

Chapter 40

Mark and the others were all dripping wet when they finished their mad dash into the Pokémon Center. Naturally, that was the point where the rain stopped falling. The rain had lasted no longer than five minutes and had soaked the entire group.

He was the most concerned about the fire-type Charmander-girl. Mark had never owned a Charmander before, but he had heard that if the flame at the end of its tail went out, the Pokémon died along with the flame. During their dash through the rain, he had been petrified that he had brought the girl outside just so she could die in a sudden freak thunderstorm. Much to his relief, the rain had no visible effect on how brightly her tail burned. Still, he had no urge to try and find out if that rumor was true or not.

Predictably, the girl hated the rain and was muttering angrily at her wet clothes. She grabbed fistfuls of her jumper and began ringing water out of it onto the floor of the Pokémon Center. When that failed to get her as dry as she wanted, she began to shake herself off, much like a dog.

The others reacted to the sudden storm with more of a sense of wonder than anything else. The storm had grown from a drizzle into a downpour in a manner of seconds. Not even ten minutes later, the storm came to a sudden halt. Those gathered together in the Pokémon Center stared outside, but none could offer an explanation.

As Mark watched the distressed Charmander-girl, he wished he had a towel with him. Unfortunately, he had already unpacked most of his traveling supplies when they had first arrived at the hotel. His pack now only contained essential medicines and Pokéballs. But he also knew those medicines were intended for normal Pokémon and were now rendered useless on human Pokémon. He reminded himself that he would have to replace his stock someday.

The lobby of the Pokémon Center was empty. The wet group of newcomers and the Blissey-nurse behind the counter were the only ones present. Mark wondered if there was a tournament match going on. It would be the easiest explanation for the lack of patients.

Since they were relatively unscathed, Mark waited in the lobby with Maple and the Charmander-girl while the others went to heal the injured. Volt, Shinobi, Silver and Tsunami were all badly hurt. Mark suggested taking Maple back, but Maple insisted that she was fine. Compared to the others, she really was.

"It _still_ won't come off…" the Charmander-girl began to whine at her wet clothes. She hated being wet more than anything and she hadn't been this wet in her entire life. She had never realized that clothes could hold so much water before.

"Oh, I have an idea!" Maple shot upright and bounced on her heels. She took the little girl by her hand and led her back to the girls' bathroom. That left Mark alone in the lobby.

As he always did when he was alone, he began to think. He had a lot to consider and this was the first time he had had a break in several hours. And it had certainly been an exhausting several hours.

Most importantly, their mission into the base of Team Deus had, for all intents and purposes, been a success. They had rescued Fernelia, Aroma and the Charmander-girl and had escaped with no permanent damage. They had also learned a lot about their enemy. Probably more than what the rest of the human Pokémon community knew. The group of thieves and kidnappers had a name now and that was more than what most people knew right there. With the right tools and preparation, Team Deus could be defeated. This was an important first step towards victory.

At least, that's what it looked like, but to Mark, the excursion into the Team Deus base didn't feel like a victory.

Team Deus was far more powerful than what they had seen. Farin, who was the fourth strongest member of the team, had only been toying with them. Three more members outranked Farin and who knew how many subordinates the team commanded. But one thing bothered Mark more than any other: Farin could have crushed and captured them all, but he hadn't. Why?

Not just that, but Lionel had been after Maple originally, right? On the contrary, Farin hadn't even looked twice at her. Did that mean that Lionel's mission was meaningless? Or had he been after something else? Briefly, Mark wondered what had become of the blond boy. But he did it without sympathy. The mental image of Lionel's face made Mark clench his fists in anger. They could've been killed and it would've been because of Lionel.

But thinking about the mysteries behind Team Deus wouldn't solve them. Like Maple had suggested, they needed help in order to defeat them. Until they had that help, Team Deus was a challenge that would have to wait. And after Lionel's betrayal, Mark didn't know if he'd be able to trust anyone for a long time. The situation with Team Deus was starting to look bleak.

* * *

><p>"What's this?" the Charmander-girl peered at the automatic hand-dryer in the girls' bathroom. The white box hung off of the wall at around chest-level with Maple, but the smaller girl could duck underneath it.<p>

"Here, I'll show you," Maple chirped happily. She placed her hand underneath the metallic spout. After a few seconds, the machine began to make a loud whirring noise as warm air flowed over Maple's hand.

Agitated by the loud noise, the Charmander-girl looked at the machine with disdain.

"What's that supposed to do?" she shouted over the whir of the hand-dryer.

"Stand under it!" Maple shouted in response. Reluctantly, the younger girl did as she was told.

At first, she didn't like it. The noise was even worse right next to the machine and the rush of air stung her eyes. But once she shut her eyes she realized how warm the air was. She had always liked warm things and the air coming out of the metal spout was helping to dry her hair and her jumper. Keeping her eyes shut, she began spinning in place underneath it. She began to pass her hands through her hair and along the dress, as if she were taking a shower.

Maple smiled as she watched her. She was incredibly happy to have a new friend. The two girls now shared a special bond as Mark's only two human Pokémon. Each of them had been abandoned and found again. They had a home and a growing family with Mark. Maple wanted to make her little sister feel as welcome as she could.

She had been filled with pride after seeing Mark talk the girl into coming with them. Mark had been like that for as long as Maple had been with him, but he rarely showed it. He was also embarrassed about it, which didn't make sense to Maple. Mark was a very kind and gentle person. Why did that bother him so much? He should be what he was and he wanted to be. And not worry about what he thought he should be.

Maple paused to consider the importance of that thought. She would have to remember to tell Mark about it sometime.

* * *

><p>Back out in the lobby, Mark was passing the time thinking about the cloud that had appeared over Mount Totetsu. A ring of golden cloud…what could that mean? Did it have anything to do with Suicune's appearance?<p>

Suicune.

Mark hadn't thought about Suicune since he had met the legendary Pokémon. In fact, he wondered why he had made that unexpected jump in logic. There was no reason to suggest that Suicune and the golden cloud were connected, but he had thought so anyway. But he had to admit that a lot of strange events were happening on this island. They were events that were even stranger than the already bizarre human Pokémon tournament.

Suicune had explained the origins of human Pokémon, calling them the Children of Jirachi. It had also explained its own presence on the island as the eyes and ears of Ho-oh as it watched over the tournament. But the information it offered ended there. And those were only half-answers. Still, as a legendary Pokémon, it must have some idea what that storm had been about.

Come to think of it, could Suicune offer help against Team Deus?

But that question felt stupid. Team Deus was a human problem. If Ho-oh wanted to deal with them, it would have done so by now. Their very existence probably angered Ho-oh, but the legendary fire-bird had been neutral in the affairs of humans for centuries.

No, they couldn't expect help from Ho-oh or Suicune. Team Deus was a problem that would have to be dealt with by other humans. In fact, it would likely please Ho-oh if humans defeated them without any assistance.

Mark made a mental note to ask Suicune about the golden cloud, but he would leave out anything he knew about Team Deus.

Moments later, he heard a door squeak somewhere behind him. He looked around the empty lobby and saw a damp Maple and the no longer wet Charmander-girl walking towards him.

"Where did you go?" Mark asked out of curiosity.

"The bathroom," Maple chirped, smiling, "we dried her off with the hand-dryer."

It was stunning and even comforting how Maple's demeanor had switched back to her cheerful, energetic self. After what they had been through underneath the docks it would've been understandable if she had remained quiet.

But Maple proved Mark wrong. She was a lot tougher than what he had assumed.

"Did that work?" Mark asked dubiously. But the Charmander-girl was indeed fully dry and she nodded happily.

Mark was very relieved to see that the two were already comfortable with each other. Maple had taken a shine to the Charmander-girl and had starting looking after her without question or complaint.

That was good. He would need help taking care of her. Mark could barely take care of Maple. How he was going to take care of two human Pokémon, he had no idea.

Speaking of "taking care of Maple"…

The doors leading back into the treatment rooms opened, distracting Mark's thoughts. Kim walked through followed by a fully-recovered Volt, walking in his usual half-hunched shuffle.

"Damned Dusknoir," he muttered as the two approached. He cracked his neck and grimaced, "give me a good, old-fashioned, one-on-one fight any day. I'll beat the shit out of any of 'em."

"Language!" Kim exclaimed with a glance at the small Charmander-girl. Kim slapped Volt in the back of his head. He glared at her, but she glared back twice as hard. After a few more seconds, the contest ended and Volt apologized to the young Charmander-girl.

"It's okay," she responded, "I know a lot of words that are worse than that."

Each of the four teenagers exchanged glances of worried confusion. What _had_ this girl seen down there? Swear words certainly couldn't be the limit of it…

Eric, Fernelia and Tsunami were the next to emerge through the double-doors. Like the others, they were back to their old selves. It astounded Mark how quickly they all adapted to being back and away from danger. The nightmare was no more than twenty minutes behind them and they were all willing and eager to pretend that it never happened.

Was that good or bad? He couldn't decide.

The only one the ordeal seemed to take a toll on was Silver. He trailed behind the newly-rescued Aroma, the newly-healed Shinobi and the newly-energetic Lily. He stared down at the ground as he walked, lost in thought and consumed with worry.

"What's wrong, Silvy?" Lily stopped skipping around Aroma. She bent forward, with her hands clasped behind her back and stared up into Silver's forlorn face.

Silver was reluctant to respond. Lily was back to her cheerful self and he didn't want to destroy it. Aroma was back and they were all okay. He should've been happy. But he also knew that this was just the beginning. Could he really hope to protect them knowing how powerful their enemies were?

"They're going to be after us," Mark deduced the reason behind Silver's distraught expression, "aren't they?"

"Yeah…" Silver nodded and then let out a heavy sigh, "like you said, they let us go, but we're still not safe. They've been hiding out for years. I can't imagine that they'll just let us walk away. I don't know what they want, but we need to start watching our backs."

"Right…" Mark had already seen the consequences of leaving his human Pokémon alone for too long. Even just a few minutes away from each other were dangerous when being targeted by Team Deus.

"Oh, shit…" Kim eyes shot wide as she remembered and she turned to Volt, "we need to go. Sprinkle's down at the beach. We need to get her."

"Dammit," Volt echoed her concern.

"We'll have to meet up with you later," Kim told the group, growing suddenly frantic, "we'll figure this crap out later." And with that, she waved goodbye and was off running with Volt close behind.

"Don't go anywhere alone!" Silver called after them. But the doors had already closed and the two were racing down the street toward the beach.

"They'll be okay," Mark told Silver, "they're both pretty smart and tough."

That left three trainers and seven human Pokémon in the lobby.

"What now?" Tsunami asked.

"I don't know…" Silver shook his head, "but we all need a break. I'll have to think of something…" he paused and looked at Mark, "you can track down one of the Four, if you like. But I doubt you'll have any luck."

"I don't know either," he shrugged, "but I don't like doing nothing."

"Fair enough," Silver nodded, "well, you know how to find us, now," he started to walk past them, leading his small group out of the Pokémon Center, "take care of yourselves."

"Thank you for your help!" Lily cheered and followed after Silver.

"Take care, Charmander," Aroma patted the little girl on the head as they left.

"Goodbye, Miss Aroma," she responded.

Then they too were gone.

"I guess we're splitting up here," Eric noted.

"Guess so," Mark replied.

"Fernelia…" the group stopped to stare at Maple. The Leafeon-girl was biting her lip and fidgeting, "I'm sorry that this happened. It's all because…"

"It's not your fault," Fernelia smiled warmly and gently hugged Maple, "I'm just glad that you're all safe." She released the girl and stepped back to stand with Eric.

"Seriously, though, thanks for everything," Tsunami stepped forward and shook Mark's hand, "if you need anything, we'll come running. We owe you big, now."

"The others did more than me," Mark shook his head, "I just got in the way."

"Not very good at accepting thanks, are you?" Tsunami half-smiled, but tightened his grip on Mark's hand, "I'm serious. Anything you need."

"Okay," Mark nodded as he was forced to accept Tsunami's offer, "I'll have to take you up on that sometime." Satisfied with that answer, Tsunami nodded back and released his grip.

"Hey, I know," Eric brightened as an idea struck him, "we have our first match tomorrow. You should come and watch."

"Really?" Maple brightened at the thought of a tournament match.

"Yeah," Eric nodded enthusiastically, "we're fighting some guy named Edwards."

"Cool!" Maple exclaimed and turned to Mark, hoping for permission.

"Alright," Mark agreed, "we'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Sweet deal!" Eric declared. He walked away proudly, waving as he went. Fernelia and Tsunami followed him out, also waving.

Mark stood in place and watched them go. He was certainly building up an interesting group of friends while on Himitsu Island. It had begun with the friendly and open, yet rough around the edges pair of Kim and Volt who had introduced Mark and Maple to the world of human Pokémon. After that, they had met Eric's adopted family of the gruff, but sincere Tsunami and the gentle, maternal Fernelia. Then the quirky group of Lily's human Pokémon made up of the reluctant leader, Silver, the loyal, silent ninja Shinobi and the beautiful and graceful Aroma. Each of them had a unique background and problems of their own. Mark still barely knew them. But after what they had been through he was glad that they were with him.

His thoughts were broken by the Charmander-girl tugging on his shirt.

"I'm hungry…" she whined with childish innocence. Her emerald eyes shined up at Mark with an adorable pleading expression.

"Yeah…me too," Mark nodded. The clock on the wall of the waiting room declared that it was ten minutes after eight o'clock. Mark and Maple hadn't eaten since noon. And Mark had no idea how long it had been since the Charmander-girl had eaten anything.

"Come on," he directed his two human Pokémon, "let's get out of here and get something to eat."

They left the Pokémon Center behind them and stepped outside.

* * *

><p>AN: kind of a small, slow chapter after what's been happening lately. Time to recap what's been happening and get back to the tournament. I guess the transition between different story arcs is always slow. It should pick up again before too much longer, though.<p>

I guess that's all I wanted to say. See you tomorrow, and thanks for reading!


	42. Cherry

Chapter 41

The hotel restaurant was still busy when Mark sat down with Maple and the Charmander-girl. As they walked in, the small girl gazed around in thoughtful, reflective wonder. The light at the end of her tail lit up the dark restaurant giving an ambiance of eating by candle-light.

The three picked a table along the right side of the entrance. Mark worried about the Charmander-girl's tail everywhere they went, but she seemed to have good control over where the flame drifted. When they sat down, she curled it around to lie up against her legs, but was also careful to keep it away from the tablecloth. Maple sat next to her, with Mark on the opposite side.

They all glanced around at the other patrons in the restaurant, always eager to see new human Pokémon and their trainers. However, like the Pokémon Center, it was almost deserted. There were just a few other tables that were full, despite the hour. Like most places they went, the human Pokémon outnumbered the normal humans.

A few minutes later, a Lopunny-girl bounced up to their table and greeted them. Their waitress was dressed in a one-piece brown dress with a cream-colored fur-lining. It may or may not have been a uniform, Mark couldn't tell. Her long, floppy ears brushed up against her shoulders and Mark was willing to bet money that she had a rabbit's tail.

"Welcome! My name's Babs, I'll be your server this evening," the girl beamed, passing out menus to the three of them, "can I get you something to drink?"

Maple blurted out a kind of soda so fast that it took Mark's brain an extra two seconds to sort out exactly what she had said. After her, Mark fumbled through ordering a water before the waitress turned to the Charmander-girl.

"And for you?" she cheeped.

The small girl blinked a few times, staring at the strange, broad smile on the girl's face. The grin began to fade slightly as the girl awaited a response.

"What do you want to drink?" Mark prompted Charmander.

"What do you mean?" she asked, dumbfounded by the restaurant process. Mark drew back in mild alarm. He had no idea how to make the question simpler. Why did she ask that? Did she not know what was happening?

"You can get whatever you want," Mark took a guess at what was bothering her.

"Oh…" still confused, the Charmander-girl didn't respond for another few seconds. The expression on the Lopunny-girl's face slowly transitioned from bubbly cheerfulness to something more akin to cautious confusion. "I usually drink water," Charmander finally answered.

"Okay!" the waitress chirruped and turned to leave, "I'll be right back with your drinks."

With the departure of the waitress, Mark opened his menu and began to look through it. He wasn't surprised that Maple didn't. For her, it was almost a moot decision. The restaurant had a very small selection of vegetarian meals and a garden salad was the most diverse item she could order.

However, after flipping back and forth between a few pages, Mark noticed that the Charmander-girl still hadn't opened hers. She was staring blankly at Mark and Maple. After a moment, Mark realized his ignorance. The girl had never done this before. If she had spent her entire life in a Team Deus prison, being able to pick what she wanted to eat would be a strange experience. Hell, just being outside must feel strange.

"You can order whatever you want here," Mark explained, "I'll pay for it. So, just order something that sounds good."

The girl blinked a few times at him, then opened the menu. She flipped through it, screwing up her face in puzzlement as she did so.

"What's this?" she turned the menu around and showed it to Mark, pointing to one of the pictures.

"You want a hamburger?" Mark asked. She must not have known what it was…

"What's a hamburger?" she asked, turning the menu back around, "is that what that is? It has weird green and red stuff on it…" Her nose wrinkled in revulsion.

"We could have them take that stuff off of it," Mark offered. A moment later, he wondered if he should be teaching the girl to eat her vegetables. If he was going to, it would be best to start now. But he decided that just this once couldn't hurt. Besides, Maple was a total vegetarian. Did the Charmander-girl have specific eating habits as well? He had no idea.

Furthermore, he was suddenly worried about what his role had become. He was her trainer now, but what did that mean exactly? How should he be treating this girl? Was he a father-figure, an older brother, or something else entirely? His relationship with Maple had changed constantly since she had evolved. Now he had to worry about what to do with his new Charmander.

Growing up, Mark had no brothers or sisters and lived only with his mother. He had never even known his father and his mother rarely talked about him. Whether he was supposed to be a father or an older brother to this girl, he had no idea how to be either.

"Here's your drinks," the Lopunny waitress returned and set down three glasses. Maple began gulping down her drink as if she had been in a desert for four days. "Are we ready to order?"

"Garden salad," Maple paused to take a breath and state her order before returning to her drink.

"Garden salad." the waitress noted, scribbling on a pad, "what kind of dressing?"

"Cinnabar ranch."

"Okay," Babs noted, "what about you, sweetie?" She leaned forward and smiled encouragingly at Charmander.

"Can I get this without the green and red stuff?" the girl asked, holding up the menu and pointing.

"Oh, certainly," Babs squeaked, "a hamburger it is, then. How would you like that cooked?"

Once again, the Charmander-girl paused in confusion at the new option. She stared back at the waitress, wondering why someone would ask such a strange question.

"Uh…medium-well, I guess," Mark answered for her. Explaining the options to her would probably take a while.

"Alrighty," the waitress nodded happy to move on, "And for you?"

"Uh…the same," Mark said. In his concern over the Charmander-girl, he had forgotten to make a decision for himself.

"Okay, I'll be right back," the waitress took their menus and bounced away. As he watched her go, Mark suddenly hoped that her ability as a Lopunny wasn't Klutz…

Maple then began prompting the Charmander-girl to take a sip of her soda. The girl was apprehensive at first, but Maple's cheerful insistence wore her down. She took an experimental sip on the straw (blowing instead of sucking, at first) then her eyes grew wide and she began drinking it too fast. Despite the resulting coughing fit, Mark realized that he should order another for her when the waitress returned.

"Uh…Charmander," Mark interrupted and the two girls perked up to attention, "you can't read, can you?"

The girl shook her head, "I never learned how. Nobody in Team Deus ever wanted to teach me."

"Oh, okay," Mark bit the inside of his lip as he thought, "What was it like at Team Deus?"

The girl sighed and began staring at the table, "just…boring, really. I mean, they didn't treat me bad unless I misbehaved," she began tracing patterns in the table, following the grooves in the wood, "the worst part was when they wanted to give me a shot or take some blood."

"I see…"

They had experimented on her. And yet, she hadn't been badly affected by it. That was odd. Perhaps it had something to do with what Farin had said. As a Pokémon belonging to the leader's son, Charmander must have had special protection. That kept the scientists at Team Deus from experimenting on her in ways that might permanently damage her. But why had Vince abandoned her if they cared enough to not risk hurting her? It didn't make any sense.

"But I really hated not being able to see Master Vince," she balled her hands into fists, "he was my trainer. And he just…wasn't there. Even if they didn't hit me or make me take that weird medicine it was still wrong," her fist was trembling, "I just…miss him so much. And he just…left me…"

Maple set her hand on the girl's back and Charmander flung herself at the older girl. She clung to her the same way that she had clung to Mark earlier. Mark thought that it would be a long time before she could get over what had happened to her.

But was that all there was to it? Was her current state of loneliness that strong? The girl was in pieces. Could the absence of her trainer be the only cause of it?

"What did you get to eat there?" Mark tried to change subjects. That was twice in just one hour that he had made her cry without meaning to. Hell of a record.

"Huh?" the girl asked, wiping at her eyes while Maple lovingly stroked her bright red hair, "what did I eat?"

"Yeah," Mark explained, "you've never seen a hamburger before. So, what did they give you?"

"Bread, water and meat," the girl answered.

"That's it?"

"Is that weird?" Charmander had no reason to think that it would be.

"Umm…yeah," Mark drew a blank on how to put it more delicately. Prison food. No, it was even worse than normal prison food. Team Deus had kept her alive, but that was the extent of it. Mark suddenly had a feeling that she was going to enjoy her meal more than she realized.

"Wait a second," Mark paused and thought back, "Maple, do you know how to read?"

"No," Maple answered with clear, basic honesty.

Mark's jaw dropped open. But as he thought back, he realized that not once did he remember Maple reading. She ordered food by mimicking what Mark had done whenever he ordered for her. She never read street signs, and even the banner in the square Mark had read first.

But wait, when they first met him, hadn't Volt been…of course. Kim had taught him how to read. There was no reason for Mark to assume that human Pokémon knew how to read when they evolved. That was up to the humans around them. Mark felt like a dead-beat dad.

"Oh," he nodded and his human Pokémon girls grew worried as they watched his face turn pale, "I…didn't think of that. Well…I guess I'll…have to teach you, then."

"Order's up!" the sudden materialization of Babs made Mark jump in his seat. She placed the three plates around the table with quick, efficient ease. Charmander's eyes grew almost as wide as the plates as she realized how much of it was for her. "And I'll get another soda, for you," Babs added, taking Maple's glass.

"Oh, me too!" Charmander blurted out. A smile was curling at the ends of her lips. This was going to be the greatest meal of her entire life.

And it was.

Mark had never seen anyone eat so fast. The little girl inhaled the hamburger that was too big for Mark to finish. She tore into it, ripping chunks off like a lion devouring a freshly caught meal. The girl was not even remotely shy about her eating habits. She didn't have the presence of mind to care. She was too busy enjoying the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

She began hiccupping when she was almost done with the hamburger. Mark watched her with a mixture of parental concern and mild amusement. He feared that she would start choking, while still amused by her reaction to restaurant-style human food. It reminded him of Maple's initial transformation. Even though Charmander was fully transformed, her own introduction to the world of humans mystified and entertained her just as much, if not more.

"What are…these?" Charmander slowed just enough to ask about the fries sitting around the edge of her plate. Her continual hiccups didn't seem to bother her.

"They're called fries," Mark explained, but when her confusion didn't fade he continued, "They're cut up pieces of a potato that you fry." He feared that this explanation would require him to explain what the words "potato" and "fry" meant, but she let him slide.

"They're kinda…"she hiccupped again before finishing, "wet."

"That's just grease," Mark explained, "try them. I'm sure you'll like them."

Charmander bit a piece off of one and chewed on it. She tossed her head side-to-side as she thought about it. The fries were clearly less of a hit than what the hamburger had been.

"How is it?" Mark asked. So far, she really did have meal preferences like Maple did. However, she was the opposite of Maple and preferred meat. It made some sense, since Charmander was a lizard Pokémon and Leafeon was a…rabbit?

Anyway, she could eat the fries, but they were inferior to the hamburger in every way.

Looking down at his plate, Mark still had a full corner of his sandwich left and he didn't expect to finish it. He offered it to Charmander who snatched it from his fingers and proceeded to shove the whole thing into her mouth at once.

"Hey, slow d-" but it was gone before he had the chance to warn her. She hiccupped a few more times and grinned broadly.

Throughout the meal, Maple watched with subdued joy and amusement. The Charmander-girl was quite possibly the cutest thing she had ever seen. She really would make a great little sister.

"Are we ready for dessert?" Babs' impeccable timing continued and she appeared with unnatural suddenness.

"Oooh, yes!" Maple cried with delight, pushing her only half-eaten salad to the side, "do you have any…oh, what are they called? Sun…sundaes?" She looked to Mark for confirmation and he nodded.

"Certainly!" Babs nodded, delighted with the decision, "we have a delicious house special that's running a two for one deal, right now."

"Okay!" Maple agreed, "We'll get that."

"Excellent choice! I'll be right back," the Lopunny-waitress gathered together the dishes and hopped away.

A few minutes later, Babs returned with two glass dishes filled with three scoops of vanilla ice-cream. It was doused in hot-fudge, covered in sprinkles, with little bits of chocolate brownie mixed in and was topped with whipped cream and bright red cherry. She set them down in front of the two girls and giggled at their respective wide-eyed expressions before skipping away.

Maple began by plucking the cherry off of the top and snapping it off of the stem before tossing it into her mouth. The Charmander-girl was more reluctant and she sniffed at the fruit. A moment later, she decided that she wouldn't like it and she set it down on the table.

However, once she tasted the ice-cream, an unspoken race ensued between the two Pokémon girls over who would finish their sundae first. The victory went to the fire-type Charmander, who seemed impervious to brain-freeze.

"Wow…" Charmander's hiccups were finally beginning to slow, "is all…food this good, up here?" She smiled at Mark and Maple who both couldn't help but smile back at the small girl.

"I don't know about all of it," Mark began, "but you'll definitely like it better than what they were giving you before."

"Wow…" she hiccupped again, for the final time.

"I'm so happy you like it here!" Maple exclaimed and had to suppress the urge to hug Charmander.

"Me too," she nodded, "although, I do still miss Master Vince..." Her gaze dropped to the table, again.

Mark sighed. He was beginning to realize that Vince was going to be a sore spot for a long time. She may never get over what he did to her. Still, they could offer her a home. That was a start.

"But," the girl continued, "you're both really, very nice and I'm glad that I met you. Thank you, so much." This time, the cuteness was too overwhelming and Maple hugged the girl tight in her arms.

"We're just happy to help," Mark added, "you shouldn't have been forced to live like that," he paused before thinking of a way to commemorate the girl's escape into the real world, "I know, we should help give you a name."

"A name?" the Charmander-girl drew back from Maple's embrace in her excitement. She had almost forgotten her search for a name. Everything else had pushed it aside, but now was the perfect opportunity. A name…for her very own…

"Yeah…" Mark began, suddenly realizing he didn't have any suggestions, "we need a good name for you…"

All three looked away in an effort to think of names. Mark continued to draw a blank wondering why it was so hard to come up with a name for a fire-type, Charmander-girl. The girl herself could only think of the same names that she had been through with Aroma. Nothing fit.

It was Maple who spied the discarded cherry on the table. She picked it up and twirled it between her fingers. She looked back and forth from the small fruit to the young girl's hair. It wasn't a perfect match, but it was close. Maple held the cherry up to the girl's hair to get the attention of the other two.

"What is this called again, Mark?" she beamed.

"It's a cherry," he answered.

"A cherry?" the girl peered at the fruit and began to wrinkle her nose, "I don't know…it doesn't look very good."

"Try it," Mark shrugged, "it couldn't hurt."

The Charmander-girl took the cherry from Maple. She sniffed at it and bit her lip, still debating. Then she took a small nibble off the end of it.

"Well?" Mark prodded.

"It's…sweet," she concluded, "I like it."

"Then how does Cherry sound?"

The small girl plucked the fruit off of its stem and popped it into her mouth. She munched thoughtfully on it, tasting the fruit and the feel of her new name at the same time.

"I like it," Cherry grinned.

* * *

><p>Mark was so exhausted he could barely stand when he opened the door to their hotel room. The third day of the tournament had been a long, exhausting ordeal. It had begun with him and Maple's tournament match against Tristan. Then his date with Maple had dissolved into a frantic rescue mission into the territory of Team Deus. Somehow, they escaped with their lives and their friends. They had even managed to help out the lonely girl that was now Mark's second human Pokémon; a ten-year-old Charmander-girl they had named Cherry.<p>

"You mean…you have a mattress?" Cherry had heard of such a wonderful device, but she had never seen one. Better, she was being told that she could sleep on it.

She leapt on top of the nearest bed and began bouncing up and down on it with sheer delight. Maple considered joining her, but she was also exhausted. The sun had been down for almost three hours and it was catching up with her. Never mind her earlier fights against Tristan, Lionel and Farin, Maple missed the sunlight.

Mark couldn't help but stare at Cherry's tail as she bounced up and down. The fire that burned at the end of it was a dangerous accessory, but somehow Cherry's subconscious managed to keep it away from anything flammable.

Maple's eyes began to slide shut as she bounced her head up and down with Cherry's movements. She couldn't fight sleep any longer and she yawned.

"Are you sleepy, Maple?" Cherry asked and her bouncing came to a stop. Her older sister nodded and yawned again.

"Yeah," Mark agreed, "let's call it a night."

"Okay," Cherry nodded. She climbed down off of the bed and let Maple crawl up onto it. Mark and Cherry watched as she curled up on top of the covers, tucked her tail behind her legs and fell right to sleep.

"She's pretty," Cherry noted before looking at Mark, "are you two married?"

"Huh?"

Between the question's suddenness and the meaning behind it, Mark was floored, "uhh…well…no…" he managed to stammer out a response, but he chose not to elaborate.

"Oh," Cherry nodded, "okay." The matter dropped as quickly as it had appeared.

Without saying anything else, she climbed into the same bed as Maple. She curled up at the end of the bed, with her tail hanging over the edge. Once Mark turned off the lights, the small fire acted like a night-light.

He sat down on the opposite bed and watched the two girls sleep for a few more minutes. He still had no idea how he should act towards these two. He was their trainer, but the definition of that word changed every day. And after the kind of day that the third day of the tournament had been, who really had any idea what the next would be like?

Another five minutes passed as Mark watched his two human Pokémon. Whatever he was supposed to do, he would figure it out. For their sake.

Too exhausted to change clothes, he lied back onto the bed and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>AN: I figure Cinnabar ranch dressing is actually a little on the spicy side.<p>

So, how do you guys like the name of Cherry? I think it suits her (although, WildCroconaw's suggestion of Amburna caught my attention). Moreover, I like how they come up with it. Specifically the fact that Maple's the one that's responsible for naming her.

I hope you've enjoyed what I have so far and thanks for reading!


	43. This is My Family: Part 1

Chapter 42

"I'll be back in just a few days. Until then, you're the man of the house."

Those were the last words that Eric's father ever spoke to him.

He never liked it when his father went away. What made it worse was that it had only been three years since his mother had passed away. Claimed by that strange thing that grew inside of her and taught Eric that growing was not always a good thing. After that, he wanted his father to be as close as possible. Losing one parent had hurt enough; losing a second would be unbearable.

To keep his mind off of his missing father and the loneliness it created in him, Eric wandered the mansion. Both of his parents were hard-working, intelligent and talented people. They had strived to give their son the best that they could, including the magnificent home they had found for him. But to Eric, the mansion wasn't anything special. It was just the place he grew up in. It was as ordinary as the color of the grass.

At age eight, he had started school and was in between third and fourth grade. His Mudkip had become a Marshtomp and Eric had given it the nickname of Tsunami. He knew little about tsunamis, aside from the fact that they were large, powerful waves. One day, his small Mudkip would become a large, powerful Swampert. It was a good name.

Fernelia, the Tropius his father had gotten him for his seventh birthday had taken a bit more thought. Some help from his father also made it a bit easier. Eric was still at a young enough age to be obsessed with dinosaurs. That made a Tropius a perfect fit for the young boy and was the most precious gift his father would ever give him. Sadly, Eric's father would never live to see just how much it meant.

Unfortunately, whereas Tsunami could follow Eric throughout the entire house, Fernelia's large size restricted her to the garden. In fact, her presence in the garden had been what prompted Eric's father to hire an actual gardener and begin to take better care of the grounds. A Tropius required a large area to properly take care of it. Eric was unaware of how expensive keeping Fernelia was, but his father never minded.

The garden, as it turned out, was the perfect place for Eric to train both of his Pokémon. The expansive grounds attracted a wide variety of other Pokémon. Some were good for the garden, like Budew and Roselia, while others had a tendency to do more harm than good. Working together, just a few Wurmple could devour an entire section of the garden overnight. That was where Eric, Tsunami and Fernelia came in.

Franz, the gardener, had his own Pokémon for fending off the small threats, but he always appreciated any help from Eric. As long as he didn't destroy the patch of garden that he was trying to protect, of course. Tsunami's Water Gun proved particularly helpful, since it could scare off most minor threats while giving the plants a nice, healthy watering at the same time.

The garden was easily Eric's favorite part of the house. It was no surprise that in the early days, after his father left and never returned, that Eric spent almost every waking minute out in the garden.

"I'll be back in just a few days. Until then, you're the man of the house."

Eric's father was charming, spirited and somehow down-to-earth despite his wealth. Eric couldn't remember what his father looked like before his mother had passed away. He only knew what he looked like from photographs, and he had once been a very handsome man. But on the day that he left, he looked tired and distant, as if a piece of him had been left far behind. Eric wanted to remember him the way that he had been, but whenever he thought of his father that last, tired smile he gave to his son was all that remained.

It truly was the last time that Eric saw his father. They said that his body had been too badly damaged in the accident and they had no choice but to hide it from him. So, with the Marshtomp still at his side, Eric had to look at a closed casket at his father's funeral.

Eric didn't know whether this was good or bad. When he looked at his mother, lying with her hands folded across her chest, she had looked small, thin and worn, as if someone had sucked the very life from her. But it was still his mother.

Eric didn't cry at either funeral. For each one, he had felt nothing. When he looked at his mother's body, he had asked his father if he should be crying. His father's response was that he should do what he felt that he needed to. But this only confused Eric, because he felt nothing. He thought he should be crying because his father was, but he didn't think that he could even force himself to cry.

Three years later, the same scene repeated itself. The same funeral home, the same friends and family paying their respects, even the same kinds of flowers spread around the casket. But his father was gone, the casket was closed and he would never see him again.

The mansion, that Eric's father had declared him to be the man of, supported two maids, one butler, one cook, and one gardener. Eric himself hadn't started to learn how to explore the place on his own until he was almost six. And even with the servants, without his mother and father around, the mansion always felt hollow.

However, just two weeks after his father's funeral, even the servants were gone.

With the insurance money left over from the deaths of his parents, Eric would be able to live comfortably for some time without any other outside financial help. There were few doors that had been closed to him. There was only the matter of needing a legal guardian.

For that role, his father's older sister, Aunt Rita, stepped into Eric's life. Aunt Rita had never had any children of her own and when it came to raising Eric, she had little interest in learning about him. At first, that was fine with Eric, who spent more time out in the garden, training his Pokémon, than inside anyway.

Aunt Rita didn't care for Pokémon, particularly Tsunami whom she had described as being "slimy, weird and repulsive." Eric had no idea what she was talking about and saw no reason to investigate further. However, since Tsunami rarely left Eric's side, it seemed as though Aunt Rita's pointed nose was always thrust upwards, towards the ceiling. Her demeanor was not helped in the slightest either.

Though she never hit Eric or otherwise did anything to hurt him deliberately, she nevertheless succeeded in doing so. Eric had overheard a growing number of troubling conversations that Aunt Rita had had with some friends of hers. Whether Eric was in the room or not, she showed a number of odd, shifty people around Eric's home as if she had earned the money that paid for it. Her complete apathy towards the memory of Eric's parents, which included her only brother, baffled Eric.

Months passed as Eric watched his mom and dad's possessions, which they had earned through two lifetimes of hard work, get carried away forever. He could do nothing but stand back and watch as Aunt Rita foolishly sold what never belonged to her in the first place.

During those months, Eric retreated to the garden more and more often. At first, he, Tsunami and Fernelia had worked to maintain whatever they could and keep it as beautiful as possible. But the boy still had school and the Pokémon could only do so much without him. In the end, it was a lost cause and by the time Eric turned nine, the garden was only a memory compared to what it once was.

But even in its rundown state, the garden still held a source of escape for Eric. Wild Pokémon entered more frequently and Tsunami and Fernelia were getting stronger all the time. His two Pokémon were always quick to comfort him whenever he came to them. He loved them and they loved him much more than what Aunt Rita was capable of. The only other people that Eric remembered showing him that kind of affection were his parents.

His greatest fear was that Aunt Rita would sell them along with his parents' old possessions.

In the autumn of that year, just two years and eight days after Eric had woken up to see what he believed to be a dinosaur living in his backyard, Aunt Rita told him that she would be selling Fernelia.

"We have to think about your future, Eric," this was not the first time that Eric's future was used as a weapon against him, "and your…Pokémon is simply too expensive to have around. And I just don't understand why your father would let you keep something like that. It's dangerous, I tell you!"

"You can't take her," Eric shook his head. There was no fear or alarm in his voice. He spoke with a conviction that he had never seen in his father, but he had inherited nonetheless.

"Whether you think you can take care of…her?" Aunt Rita was unaware that Fernelia was female. She also didn't know her name, "well, you can't keep her. Think of your future! You want to go to a good university one day, don't you?"

"Not if it means giving up Fernelia," Eric remained composed. It was a behavior he had adopted through dealing with Aunt Rita. Getting upset at her never changed anything. She ignored him whether he yelled or screamed or did nothing at all. Emotions like that were meaningless around her. The only attitude that seemed worth having was one of polite composure. It was an attitude that bordered on stoic indifference.

But as he left the small meeting with Aunt Rita, he felt rage and hatred like he had never felt before. She was going to take Fernelia from him and there was nothing he could do. Aunt Rita was his guardian and Eric could do nothing to stop her. He had stood back and watched as his mother and father's estate was picked apart and he would be forced to do the same when Aunt Rita came for him.

His entire body was shaking from the rage that threatened to consume him. He walked with his fists clenched and his teeth gritted. At his side, Tsunami was spitting in anger, which was something Eric had never seen him do.

There was only one thing that Eric could think of to do. With his rage boiling over, he stormed directly from his father's old study, now Aunt Rita's, and went straight out into the garden.

His heart sank when Fernelia was outside, waiting for him. If he had been able to cry at his father's funeral, he might have then, as well. But he wouldn't shed tears until he had done so for his parents. He had promised them that.

Instead, he thought about Aunt Rita and how he would lose Fernelia in just a few more weeks if he didn't do anything.

But he could think of nothing to stop her. Whether he wasn't smart enough or creative enough or mischievous enough, there was nothing. There was only the harshness of reality telling him that this was the way it was because Aunt Rita said so.

So he did the only thing he could do. He trained his Pokémon. He did it for hours, long after Aunt Rita should have made him go to sleep, but she didn't care about him enough. He spent hours with them and them alone, watching them grow and get stronger.

How many more nights like that would he be able to spend with them? Eric had no idea, but he vowed to spend as much time with them as possible. Because in a few more weeks Fernelia would be gone. Then Aunt Rita would come for Tsunami as well. Then Eric would be alone.

And so they trained and Eric cherished every second of the time they spent together. Tsunami and Fernelia, his Marshtomp and Tropius, they were the only family that Eric had left. He loved them more than anything.

Before the sun rose that morning, sometime around one thirty, Tsunami evolved into a Swampert.

Two days later, he evolved again.

* * *

><p>There was no answer outside of Kim's door the morning of the fourth day of the tournament. Mark stood with Maple and Cherry behind him and knocked again, frowning at the lack of a response.<p>

"Are they awake?" Maple asked. She had been up for two hours, a full hour longer than Mark, and it was common for her to find that the other people around her were still asleep.

"I would think so…" Mark tried pounding harder, but it made no difference. Finally, he gave up and called her on his cell phone.

"What is it, noob?" Kim's greeting sounded in Mark's ear.

"Oh, uhh…" Mark had thought a "good morning" would have been more appropriate, but he realized he should've anticipated Kim's response, "well, we're about to go see Eric's match. Where are you?"

"We're training at the beach," Kim answered, "you said Eric has a match?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, cool," Kim's voice spiked with interest, but she had already chosen to decline, "sorry, we can't make it. Lots of training to do. Cheer for us too, would you?"

"Sure," Mark agreed, "we can do that."

"Cool, talk to you later," Kim hung up without waiting for a response. Closing his phone, Mark turned to Maple and Cherry.

"I guess we could try Lily," he shrugged.

But Lily was also out training. Overall, Mark realized that he shouldn't be very surprised. The group that had raided the Team Deus base had formed out of necessity. With their mission accomplished, the other members were eager to put the ordeal behind them and get on with their lives.

At least, that was one theory. The other, which Mark liked better, was to assume that Kim and Lily both wanted to train even harder than before. If they all became stronger, a victory against Team Deus wouldn't be an unreachable goal.

Whatever the reason, Mark was still disappointed that it was going to be just himself, Maple and Cherry attending Eric's first match.

It was another clear, beautiful day on Himitsu Island. The brief storm from the night before had left no evidence behind, aside from the whispers from those who had seen the golden ring over Mount Totetsu. However, even those whispers would be gone soon enough.

Cherry, like Maple and most other human Pokémon Mark knew, was eager and excited to see her first tournament match. But more than that, she was excited to see the bright, warm sun. It had been three months since she had last seen it and it was every bit as bright and amazing as she remembered it to be. She loved the flame burning in the sky as much as anyone.

They made their way to the stadium, weaving their way through a thickening cloud of tournament-goers. Mark let Maple take the lead with Cherry behind her. The events of the previous day had already served to make Mark somewhat paranoid. He feared that if either one of them left his sight for more than a few seconds they would vanish into the crowd and be lost forever.

The crowd itself was rather sparse for a human Pokémon match, especially compared to the mass of humanity that Mark remembered from Aurum's first match. And back then, Kim had led them into the stadium more than thirty minutes ahead of schedule. But this was little comfort as he watched Cherry become more and more uneasy around the crowd.

She was fine, at first, but the closer they moved to the stadium and the more the crowd thickened, the more uneasy she became. She walked slower and her eyes scanned the crowd. The girl hadn't been around a crowd of people of this size even once. Her underground confinement hadn't helped anything, either. While Mark paid for their tickets, she started trembling.

"We can go back if you want to," Mark suggested, his own worry made Cherry feel worse, but he could do little to hide it from the perceptive Charmander-girl.

"No, no, I'm okay," Cherry assured him, nodding in spite of the tremor in her voice.

"It'll be better once we sit down," Mark took one of her hands and Maple the other. With her hands being held, Cherry felt a bit better and could continue. Nonetheless, while they were filing into their seats and could only move a few inches at a time, Cherry released Maple's hand to clasp onto Mark's leg in an iron-hard grip and buried her face into his side.

Mark also nearly panicked when she did so. If she froze with her arms around his leg, he felt certain that there was little he could do to remove her. However, when he tried to walk, Cherry shuffled along with him. Thankfully, they could still move and they awkwardly made their way to their seats.

"Cherry, we're here," Mark attempted to soothe her, "it's safe to let go, now."

Cherry very seriously doubted that until she started to take a look around. There were, of course, people everywhere. The murmuring of the crowd created a low rumbling sound like a building thunderstorm. There were at least twenty other human Pokémon in range that could easily attack and defeat her with little effort. The entire scene terrified her...except for the view of the field.

She scanned it from end to end, from the trainer's boxes, to the red and white Pokéball painted into the center. Huge and a comforting shade of green it was exactly the way she had pictured it. She let go of Mark's leg and she felt like she could breathe again.

* * *

><p>Eric always felt afraid whenever he was alone. But that didn't matter inside of the stadium's locker room, he had no choice. Tsunami and Fernelia were inside of their Pokéballs. They were by his side, sure, but they still felt impossibly far away. He could endure it, though, he had been through worse.<p>

Yesterday, for example, was a mere hair short of being hell made real for Eric. With Fernelia's disappearance it was as if Aunt Rita were still trying to force him and his Pokémon apart. Eric could barely keep calm enough to be of any use to his friends. New friends who had come from nowhere to fight for him. They wanted nothing more than to help. Eric had never known people to be that kind that weren't his parents, or his adopted parents.

He wondered if coming to the tournament had been a bad idea. Eric had been unsure, especially so soon after being officially adopted by Tsunami and Fernelia. But it was his new parents that had urged him to do it. It was their first official act as his parents to encourage him to attend the tournament with them by his side.

All three of them knew very little about human Pokémon. They could pass for human well enough to adopt Eric and there was also the side benefit of retaining their abilities. That was more than enough for them.

It had been Alfred Silph's aide who had visited Eric's home and invited them to the tournament. He had also forged the necessary paperwork to make Tsunami and Fernelia official residents of Johto. That paperwork was an absolute necessity in winning against Aunt Rita.

That was Eric's real life, a constant legal battle with Aunt Rita for what was left of his parents' estate. If Tsunami and Fernelia hadn't evolved, then it would all have been gone already. At least, that was the way Eric felt.

He owed them a lot, but what they wanted to see for him was a happy childhood. Between the deaths of his parents and the reign of Aunt Rita, Eric had grown well beyond his years in a very short time. The other kids at his private school noticed, even if they didn't know what it was that caused the difference between them. As a result, Eric was always kept at a distance. Not that he would be able to relate with them, anyway.

But the distance between Eric and his peers worried Tsunami and Fernelia. The boy needed friends and he was having a very difficult time finding any. The tournament would be just the place. There would be other trainers with human Pokémon that shared a deeper connection than what most trainers even knew existed. They wanted to go for him. It was just the kind of parents that they were.

"Excuse me," the stadium attendant came back to fetch Eric, "are you ready? It's time."

Eric nodded and followed the attendant.

He thought back to when he had seen Mark, a fellow newcomer, walk out onto the field. The stadium had been filled with excited murmuring then, and it was more of the same when Eric took to the field.

Except for one spot, about six rows back. Eric could see Maple leaping into the air and cheering. Beside her, the Charmander-girl they had rescued along with Fernelia also cheered. Mark was doing his best, but it was much more subdued, as if he were far too concerned about what the fans around him thought.

It was a small greeting, but Eric was no less happy to have it.

"AND ON THE RED SIDE," the voice of the stadium announcer echoed, "WE HAVE…RICHARD EDWARDS!"

Another fresh face in the tournament, the crowd's excited murmur continued. But as Eric approached the center of the field to greet his opponent, he stopped short. He already knew the man he was facing.

* * *

><p>"Oh, God…" Mark drew in a sharp breath and stopped cheering.<p>

"What? What is it?" Cherry also stopped to see what was wrong. Mark pointed and Cherry's emerald eyes went wide with shock.

"Why did you stop cheering?" Maple asked, but when she followed Mark's finger to where he was pointing, she knew.

Despite the warm sun of the late spring afternoon, the man that the stadium announcer had called Richard Edwards was wearing a gaudy lavender colored suit.

* * *

><p>AN: sorry to have to depress you for a bit there. Eric's had a rough life in his ten years.<p>

I may also be getting a bit too realistic when it comes to Eric's adoption, but they are officially his parents. Silph's aide helps to speed up all the legal jargon that would go into making a human Pokemon into a person that could legally adopt a son, though. so, that helps.

Anyways, Eric's full back-story and match against Farin are just starting (technically, it hasn't started yet).

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week!


	44. This is My Family: Part 2

Chapter 43

Eric froze in place just a few steps from the center of the field and stared at his opponent. Farin, fourth in command of Team Deus, stood there grinning at him, wearing his signature lavender-colored suit. The name of Richard Edwards was a sham, disguising who he really was. Eric would recognize the man that had threatened him and the others in the Himitsu Island underground anywhere.

"Good morning," Farin extended his hand out to the small boy, "my name is Richard Edwards. I'm pleased to meet you."

Eric didn't move. It was taking all of his willpower to just stay still. If he moved, he would attack Farin himself. That would only lead to a speedy disqualification. Eric had to keep his temper under control.

"What's wrong, young man?" Farin asked pleasantly. He walked forward, took Eric's limp hand and shook it.

Eric's paralysis broke and he jerked his hand back from the man. Farin's expression remained calm and pleasant.

"Rather un-sportsman-like, don't you think?" the man grinned

"What are you doing?" Eric snapped.

"I thought that I was going to be competing in a Pokémon match against you," Farin shrugged, "is that a problem?"

"_Why_?"

Farin stared at the small boy for a few seconds, then recognition sank in, "ah, yes. You were with that little group yesterday, weren't you? Well, isn't this a fun coincidence."

"Go to hell."

"Such foul language for a small boy," Farin shook his head, "well, if we already know each other, then shall we get started?" Without waiting for a reply, Farin turned towards his end of the stadium, leaving the flabbergasted Eric to stand staring after him.

It was over. Farin had already displayed how powerful he was. Eric had lost before the match had even started. What was the point in fighting him?

But Eric still felt such anger at seeing him. He was one of the leaders of Team Deus, the tormentors of the small community of human Pokémon, and one of the people responsible for Fernelia's kidnapping. What did he want? Why was he fighting?

The outcome of the match was already certain. Nothing could come from this match. Why did it have to happen to Eric like this?

It was all just...unfair.

The small boy was shaking as he turned towards his own end of the stadium.

* * *

><p>"He can't win," Mark stated the fact, "there's no way." Beside him, Cherry and Maple had stopped cheering. They each looked as forlorn as Mark felt.<p>

Farin was far too powerful for Fernelia and Tsunami to handle alone. After yesterday's battle, Farin had defeated Shinobi, Volt and Tsunami and had only lost his warped human Crobat in the process. They only escaped because of Cotton's Sleep Powder and Farin's twisted decision to let them go. Eric didn't stand a chance alone.

A victory was impossible.

But, wait, why was Farin competing at all? Mark had believed that everything that Team Deus had done was a ploy to lure them into the base. If that were true, then why was Farin in the tournament? A regulated match held no meaning.

None of this was making sense. Everything Team Deus did contradicted itself. Why?

"But..." Cherry's small voice distracted Mark, "he's going to fight anyway..."

Mark stared at her anxious expression for a few seconds before looking back down at the field. She was right. Eric could have forfeited already, but he was walking towards his platform anyway. What could he be thinking?

* * *

><p>"Yo, Cara," Sparks, the human Luxray nudged his trainer to get her attention, "isn't that the same guy from the bar?"<p>

"Hmm? Gimme a second," the young woman was busy cleaning her glasses. The glare was awful from their position in the nose-bleed section. She had lost one of her contacts shortly after arriving on Himitsu Island and now she was stuck with her back-up pair of glasses for the rest of the tournament. She envied Sparks and her three-to-five other human Pokémon (she still couldn't decide whether Mano, Duon and Trine, the human Dugtrio, was one or three) for their keen eyesight.

"It is him," Ebony, the Honchkrow-woman confirmed from Cara's opposite side, "I had a feeling that we would see his revolting face again..."

"We all did, honey," Serenade, the human Jynx, sighed, "There's just something not right about him..."

At last, Cara's glasses were sufficiently clean. She slid them in place and the world returned to focus. When she looked down at the field, there was no mistaking the grape bubblegum stain that had harassed them at the Shooting Starmie Bar back in Vermilion City.

"Great...him again..." she groaned, "what do you think he's doing here?"

"No idea..." Sparks shook his head, "whatever it is, it isn't good..."

"Thank you for that stunning insight," Ebony leaned forward to sneer at Sparks.

"Then you do better, bitch," Sparks snapped back.

"Hey!" Cara broke up the fight before it got any worse, "whatever he's doing, the two of you fighting isn't going to help solve anything," she took a breath to calm down, "all we know is that he lied to us. He knows what human Pokémon are, so what?"

Her own human Pokémon looked away as their trainer scolded them. It was an old habit for Ebony and Sparks to bicker, one that dated back to well before they turned human and it was always Cara's job to end it.

"Look," Cara continued, "I think he's evil, you guys think he's evil. But so what? We can't do anything about it without good reason. Now apologize to each other."

"No," Ebony and Sparks said in total synchronization.

_This is why I'm the trainer_, Cara thought with annoyance. Still, she stood by what she said. Sure the guy was suspicious, but what of it? What could they do, follow him around the island waiting for him to do something evil? That was liable to be a waste of time. Time they could be using to practice songs or, better yet, train for their match against RiverofTears.

Cara was suspicious, but she wasn't THAT suspicious.

Still, it couldn't hurt to ask Alex the next time she saw him.

For now, they could only watch him compete. Whoever he was…

* * *

><p>Eric climbed up the ladder onto the green platform. He was getting angrier with every passing second. There was nothing fair about what was going to happen. Farin was going to beat him, he knew that for certain. He had already seen how powerful Farin was. No matter what he did, this was just a footnote to Farin. The match would start, it would end, and with no effort Farin would move on.<p>

But Eric wasn't going to accept that. He had come here to fight and compete, no matter who his opponent was. And he knew that Tsunami and Fernelia would feel the same.

He would fight, even if he couldn't win.

Farin believed that he was just an annoyance to be swept aside. He hadn't even remembered Eric was in the group that fought him. Tsunami had been the one to defeat Farin's human Crobat and he hadn't even remembered.

It was Aunt Rita, again. Somebody who thought he didn't matter, who thought that he was just an obstacle and an annoyance.

He hated them both. And he would not go quietly. He was not just some little kid to be ignored and forgotten about. He and his family had gone through too much.

"Fernelia!" Eric shouted, calling out his mother.

The Tropius-woman appeared on the field with a flash of white light. She was the very picture of calm dignity, standing with her hands folded in front of her. She did not look like a fighter. Just like her trainer, it was easy for her opponents to underestimate her. It always worked out in her favor.

Across the field, Farin's human Mightyena was the one to start the fight. He crouched low the ground and snarled at Fernelia. His mind was now warped beyond repair from the experiments that Team Deus had performed on him. It made Fernelia sick and sympathetic at the same time.

"Are you ready?" Eric asked Fernelia.

"Certainly…are you okay?" Fernelia's sharp maternal instincts alerted her to Eric's instability the moment she heard him.

"I'll be fine," Eric exhaled sharply, "I just want to teach this jackass a lesson."

"Okay," Fernelia nodded, still concerned. Then, she recognized the man at the other end of the stadium, as well as the human Mightyena. After that, Eric's anger made sense. He wanted revenge for what had happened to Fernelia. Even if they were going to lose, he wanted to prove that they weren't weak.

Fernelia sighed. It wasn't in her nature to want revenge. To her, it was a selfish act. There was no justice in harming another person for any reason.

Still, she was a Pokémon. The instinct to fight would always be with her, no matter what. She wasn't ashamed of it, but she didn't let herself be controlled by it either.

She wielded an awesome power, but she did it for her son. He was the reason that she had evolved and he was the reason that she fought. She would help, guide and protect him. They were family, after all.

"AANNNNDDDD…" the announcer toyed with them, "BEGIN!"

Just like before, Farin's Mightyena moved without orders while the lavender-man leaned back and watched. It raced across the field, crouched low to the ground. It was awkward to watch, the human frame wasn't meant for quadrupedal movement. But the human Mightyena was so well-adjusted to it, it could move with surprising quickness.

"Fernelia, start with Sunny Day," Eric instructed. It was their normal strategy. Against a Mightyena, there were no obvious type advantages or disadvantages. That made it a good opportunity for Eric to prepare and boost Fernelia's strength while he could.

Fernelia closed her eyes and folded her hands in front of her chest, as if praying. She concentrated on the warmth of the sun beaming down on her and willed for it to get even warmer.

There was no flashy visual display that went along with Sunny Day, but its effects could be felt by everyone in the stadium. The sun over their heads began to feel much warmer and even appeared brighter. The temperature of the warm, late spring day spiked by an extra fifteen degrees. It had a profound effect on the human Pokémon in the stands, as well. Fire and grass-types, Cherry and Maple included, felt energized and much stronger. On the other hand, any water, ice and even electric-types felt oppressed by the excessive heat.

Down on the field, Fernelia opened her eyes and smiled. With that, everything was set up. She was ready for the next stage.

But the time she had spent charging the Sunny Day had also been plenty of time for the human Mightyena to close in on her. Just as she opened her eyes, he was leaping into the air. She moved to dodge out of the way, but it was too late. His mouth opened unusually wide and sharp canine teeth Crunched down on Fernelia's shoulder. She grimaced against the pain and fought to dislodge the dog-man from her shoulder.

He bit deeper into her shoulder, kicking and snarling like a Rottweiler. With the Mightyena-man hanging off of her, Fernelia tried desperately to shake him off. The scene might have been comical if it weren't for the flecks of blood that flew into the air.

At last, the Mightyena's attack finished. It dropped back to prepare for another, eyeing Fernelia more cautiously this time. A ring of bloody teeth marks had appeared on Fernelia's right shoulder and she winced against the pain. Another attack like that and it would be over.

"Now, Fernelia!" Eric shouted, "Solarbeam!"

Farin's Mightyena snarled and leapt at Fernelia again, but the Tropius-woman was quicker. She brought her hands up in front of her, palms outward. Firing like a cannon, a streak of gold, green and red light shot from her open palms directly into the oncoming Mightyena. Powered by the intense sunlight, the column of light, over two-feet in diameter slammed into his chest and sent him rolling backwards along the ground.

Fernelia turned off the Solarbeam to check on the damage done. The Mightyena lay in a heap about twenty yards away from her. Drops of blood dotted the path leading up to him. Unfortunately, he was back on his feet quickly. He was badly hurt, but he ignored it and charged at Fernelia again.

"Again!" Eric shouted, "Solarbeam!" Eric's voice added strength to Fernelia's own powers. The bond the two shared wasn't simply one between trainer and Pokémon, but it was something stronger; the bond of family.

With the empowered sunlight, Fernelia could move quicker and attack more strongly. Solarbeam became a lethal weapon that could do massive damage to most anything she fought. Farin's warped Mightyena was no exception.

She fired one last Solarbeam, directly into the wild-eyed face of her opponent. Even right before the beam of multi-colored light struck him, the human Mightyena never showed fear or hesitation. It wasn't human and it was too much of an animal to even be considered a Pokémon. Eric didn't know what it was, but he felt sorry for it.

The human Mightyena bounced back across the field, knocking up clumps of dirt as its body rolled away. It came to a stop just a few yards shy of its first resting place. On wobbly arms and legs, he tried to sit up. But the effort was too much and, with a whimper, it slumped forward and fell unconscious.

_There_, Eric grinned at the thought, _how do you like that?_

* * *

><p>Initially, Tsunami's evolution changed nothing. Even after the first two transitional days, where Eric kept Tsunami firmly locked in his room, having another adult around changed little. Eric had expected Aunt Rita to be shocked, horrified, and, a tad unrealistically, he thought she would start treating he and his Pokémon with more respect.<p>

However, this was not the reaction that he saw. Aunt Rita knew so little about Pokémon that apparently there was no shock value in Tsunami's third evolution into a man with strange ears and a sail on his back. Instead, she tried to force Tsunami out of the house. The reason was that Tsunami was now a normal adult and shouldn't be loafing around their house. By her logic, Tsunami was a bad influence on Eric.

A small part of Eric wondered if she were right. He had no idea what relationship he was supposed to have with his former Swampert. He had told Eric that he evolved to be able to help him, but what could he do? Tsunami could not fight the battles that Eric needed to win against Aunt Rita. His evolution seemed meaningless.

Aunt Rita also still planned on selling Fernelia. They had three weeks before Fernelia would be gone forever. The only exception would be if she also turned human. Then, like Tsunami, she would have to leave. The one charity that Aunt Rita granted them was that Tsunami could stay for an additional month while he looked for work.

Eric cursed his Aunt every night and day in the weeks that followed. She had no right to treat them that way and it was downright inhumane to be so cruel to them. Tsunami couldn't even read! How long would he last in the real world by himself? Tsunami was another adult presence in the house, but he had no power.

Fernelia often thought back to the night where Eric had cried himself to sleep beside her, in the garden. Tsunami slept just a short distance away from them, wondering why he had bothered to evolve. Both of them were frustrated, angry and lost. They should have been able to fix their situation. Wasn't part of being human having the power to change the world?

Fernelia wanted to help them both. She didn't know what she could accomplish as a human, but whatever she did, it would be better than remaining as she was.

The next morning, Eric woke up in the arms of the woman that would become his new mother.

* * *

><p>AN: I don't know if anybody remembers Cara and her group from waaaaay back in Chapter 11, but they're finally making another appearance. I tried to make it sort of a re-introduction since it's been so long. I don't want to have to force anybody to go back and re-read that chapter.<p>

Anyways, I hope you're enjoying Eric's fight against Farin and his super-depressing back-story.

Thanks for reading and cya next week!


	45. This is My Family: Part 3

Chapter 44

Farin's human Mightyena faded from the field, leaving Fernelia behind. The intense sunlight over the field wouldn't last for much longer. Eric would have to make the most of it while it remained. Fernelia had already fired Solarbeam twice and she wasn't likely to get many more before the strength of Sunny Day faded.

But Farin didn't need to wait for that to happen. He called out his human Crobat next. It grinned at Fernelia with that same crooked smile, hovering in the air on its thin wings.

_Dammit_, Eric thought. There was little that Fernelia could do. Her abilities were very limited and the Crobat's dual-typing meant that it resisted all of her attacks. Fernelia could only attack with Solarbeam and Magical Leaf; both were grass-type abilities.

Worse still, Eric couldn't risk switching to Tsunami. Regardless of how it attacked, Tsunami would take a considerable amount of damage when he entered the field. Against a normal Crobat, that might be okay, but Eric had already seen Farin's human Crobat take a Thunderbolt from Volt, Kim's human Raichu, and an Ice Beam from Tsunami before going down. The Thunderbolt alone should have done the job, but the human bat had managed to stay in the fight.

Eric was left with only one option. He had to keep Fernelia in this fight. She would lose and Eric would be forced to watch her get hurt, but he had no choice. He wanted that Crobat.

As if sensing his thoughts, the Crobat began to swoop across the field, closing the distance to his target.

"Fernelia, Solarbeam," Eric commanded. His voice both felt and sounded weak.

If Fernelia were still just a normal Tropius, she may have obeyed Eric's orders without realizing what he was planning. But her evolution had made her much smarter and she knew what was coming. She couldn't stop it and she wouldn't defy Eric's orders either. She had to trust that Eric knew what he was doing and that Tsunami would be able to finish what she started.

She brought her hands up and fired the Solarbeam one last time. The streak of gold and green light landed in a direct hit through the mid-section of the human Crobat. But unlike the Mightyena, the Crobat had no problem with taking the hit. It acted as though as it hadn't even felt the attack and it retaliated by spitting up a globule of thick, purple liquid.

Through the Solarbeam, Fernelia had no time to dodge the enemy's Sludge Bomb. Her eyes widened as she saw it coming. It exploded on contact with her chest, sending the disgusting blob splattering onto the field surrounding her. She was instantly knocked off her feet and she landed flat on her back. The taste of blood filled her mouth as the world went dark and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Sighing heavily, Eric recalled Fernelia. He cursed himself for putting his adopted mother in such terrible danger. She would be okay, but knowing that didn't make it any easier. Was there something he could have done differently? Maybe started with Tsunami?

No, that would have been wrong. Then Tsunami would have taken too much damage from Farin's Mightyena and the Crobat would have defeated both Tsunami and Fernelia. This was his only option.

"Dammit," Eric muttered, cursing aloud, "why does it have to happen like this? It's not FAIR!"

"Life isn't fair, boy," Farin's voice crackled through the speaker next to Eric. He stared at it briefly. He hadn't realized that he had screamed that last word.

"Shut up!" Eric shouted at the speaker, "why are you even doing this?! You proved your point before, why are you even in the tournament?"

"Orders are orders," even though he couldn't see him, Eric had the sense that Farin just shrugged, "I don't always like them, but following them keeps everyone happy."

"_What_?" Eric didn't understand what that meant, but Farin didn't elaborate.

"Are you forfeiting, boy?" Farin's voice returned to its usual calm, unreadable tone.

"No," Eric said through clenched teeth, "I'm just starting. Tsunami!"

Eric's adopted father and human Swampert appeared on the field. He surveyed the area, taking in what must have happened. The sun over his head was burning more brightly than what should be possible. But he could tell that it would fade soon, which was good because he hated sun that powerful.

There was blood on both sides of the field and small spots of purple goo a short distance from where he stood. But the human Crobat flitting in the air looked unscathed. Fernelia must have defeated one of the enemies before going down herself. And that human Crobat looked very familiar…

"Oh, it's you again," Tsunami growled, "what did you do to my wife?" The Crobat-man made a strange chattering noise as if it were pleased with itself. Tsunami's scowl deepened. He had thought that these warped creations of Team Deus had no real presence of mind. But this one enjoyed what it had just done. Tsunami suddenly envisioned ripping its wings off with his bare hands and killing it. It only made him feel slightly better.

The Crobat, well within the range of Sludge Bomb, began strafing back and forth in front of Tsunami. It was quick. It darted back and forth, never in one place for more than a tenth of a second. But as it moved, Eric recognized what was about to happen as it craned its neck backwards and something seemed to be moving up its throat.

"Tsunami, move!"

Eric's human Swampert rolled to his right as another Sludge Bomb missed him by a hair and exploded onto the ground. The grass around it seemed to boil for a brief moment, but Tsunami was unaffected.

"Stone Edge!" Eric seized the opportunity to try and end the fight with a single attack. The poison/flying-type Crobat may be able to shrug off Fernelia's Solarbeam, but with its low defenses and Tsunami's excellent attacking power, a hit from Stone Edge would drop it like…well, like a rock.

As Tsunami rolled away from the Sludge Bomb, he reached down to the ground and grabbed a chunk of it. When he stood up, he was holding a small boulder with a sharpened edge. Trying to aim carefully while the Crobat-man was still temporarily immobile, Tsunami hurled the boulder directly at it. It spun through the air, rotating around and around as it came closer.

But then, the human Crobat could move again and it climbed higher into the air. The boulder created from Tsunami's Stone Edge crashed to the ground, shattering into pebbles on the other side of the stadium.

"SHIT!" Eric screeched his agony.

"Language, boy, language," Farin chastised him through the speaker.

"Try Ice Beam!" Eric ignored Farin and tried switching to a more reliable attack. As he issued the order he could feel the sunlight overhead soften back to its original state. It wasn't a large concern, as Ice Beam's super-cooled jet of water was far too cold to be affected by the sunlight.

But, personally, Tsunami felt much better without the oppressive heat glaring down on him. He felt like he could aim better and the stream of water he spat from his mouth was right on target.

The Crobat-man screeched as the extreme cold of the water sucked the warmth from its body. It weaved and careened through the air, but the Ice Beam otherwise had no effect. Tsunami could see no visible wounds on it.

Steadying itself, the Crobat retaliated with another Sludge Bomb. Aided by the increased height, the poisonous glob exploded in Tsunami's face. Momentarily blind, he groaned in bitter agony and wiped the disgusting stuff from his face.

Seizing the opportunity, the enemy Crobat built up energy by drawing its wings back. Snapping forward, its wings rent the very air around it and created a small vortex that cut through the air like a blade. Still reeling from the Sludge Bomb, Tsunami had no time to dodge and the Air Slash ripped through his shoulder. Blood squirted out of the wound and Tsunami cried out in pain again.

"Don't let up!" Eric tried his best to encourage his badly hurt companion, "Ice Beam!"

Tsunami staggered, trying to regain his feet after the devastating combination attack. He managed to fire another Ice Beam, but his aim was badly off and the Crobat dodged with ease, climbing high into the air, again.

"Dammit," Tsunami growled, "you quick son of a bitch…" His shoulder ached as the blood flowed freely and began to soak his shirt and jacket. Nothing was working. Stone Edge wasn't accurate enough and Ice Beam wasn't powerful enough. Tsunami had defeated it before because it had been confined to the small hallway of the Team Deus base. Out here, the Crobat could do anything.

"Uhh…dammit…" Eric was so flustered and frustrated he could barely think. Tsunami should have been able to defeat this thing, but…why not?! "Ice Beam, I guess," Eric was no longer sure of himself. He had forced this battle and now Tsunami was going to pay the price for his mistake.

Tsunami regrettably ignored the order from his adopted son. Instead, he hefted another boulder from the ground at his feet. He needed to end this and Stone Edge was the only way to make it happen. Putting his bleeding arm out in front of him and holding the boulder behind his ear, he steadied himself and waited. The Crobat once again arched its wings back, preparing for another Air Slash.

Tsunami launched the Stone Edge with all of his might. But, like before, the Crobat slipped to the side and it fell harmlessly wide of its target. The second Air Slash ripped into Tsunami's other shoulder, spraying blood and causing him to cry out in agony.

Eric screamed Tsunami's name as his human Swampert dropped to one knee. They had lost. Tsunami wouldn't have lasted through that attack. He was finished.

Tsunami's head spun and his shoulders burned with the pain. Never in his life had he been so out-classed by an opponent. What was that thing?

He blinked rapidly, trying to stay awake. The world wanted to fade and he'd be stupid not to admit that he wanted to give into it. The comforting darkness…the pain would go away and he could rest. But he wasn't finished.

Farin and that damned Crobat couldn't win. They had hurt him, they had hurt Fernelia and they had hurt Eric. What kind of father was he if he couldn't protect them from that? He was a fraud. Eric was not his son, Fernelia was not his wife. This fight couldn't end until he proved them all wrong.

With his head throbbing, his vision blurred and his body screaming with pain, Tsunami stood back up.

* * *

><p>"What the…?" Mark didn't believe it as he watched Tsunami get back up onto his feet. After a Sludge Bomb and two Air Slashes from Farin's freakish Crobat, Tsunami should be down. He had even looked like he was finished. Everyone in the stadium had thought it was over. Even the Crobat had stopped its relentless attacks.<p>

The stadium around him was silent as they watched the human Swampert struggle to his feet. Something was wrong…

Then he remembered.

"Oh, no…" he whispered. Then he shouted, "STOP THE FIGHT! YOU HAVE TO STOP THE FIGHT, NOW!" He stood up onto the bench and screamed it as loud as he could, "STOP THE FIGHT!"

"What? What is it?!" Mark had never heard Maple so terrified before. She tugged at his shirt, demanding an explanation. The eyes of the entire stadium turned to look at the teenage boy.

"I just remembered something Kim told me," Mark's nerves were shot and he spoke rapidly, "when we were at the Pokémon Center. She said that there's a limit to how hard a human Pokémon can push themselves."

"Right, right," Maple nodded, "the point where we fall unconscious and can't fight anymore."

"Right," Mark continued, "but she said something else, too. She said that if a human Pokémon wanted to, they could push themselves past that limit."

"W-what does that mean?"

"Tsunami shouldn't be able to fight anymore," Mark stared hopelessly at the field, "if he really is pushing himself past that normal limit…then he could die out there…"

* * *

><p>Mark's plea to end the fight was a muffled sound in Tsunami's ears.<p>

The kid had picked up on what he was doing. He was pretty sharp, Tsunami had to admit. But Tsunami wasn't about to let this fight end yet. He wasn't going to stop and neither would that horrible Crobat. They weren't fighting just to win a match or earn some respect anymore. Tsunami was far beyond that. It was worth risking his life, now.

The Crobat swayed back and forth in the air. Ice Beam could hit, but it would be a waste of time. He needed to finish the thing in a single attack. The awesome strength of Stone Edge was what he needed. But if he missed, he would probably die. He had missed the first time, but he had noticed the moment of vulnerability right before the human Crobat fired its attacks. Each one was a precious opening that he could exploit with just the right timing. He could beat it.

However, his opponent was just as confused as the spectators watching them. It was eyeing him cautiously. Even without a properly functioning human brain, its instincts as a Pokémon still told it that it should have won. Still, its previous combination of attacks had devastated Tsunami. It had no reason to be afraid.

Testing Tsunami's plan, it fired another purple glob.

As the Sludge Bomb plummeted towards Tsunami, it was almost over before it began. Tsunami's legs didn't get the hint to move until the last possible moment. He rolled to his left side and came up on his hands and knees. The Crobat was still there, preparing one last Air Slash. That was his cue.

Tsunami reached down and found the Stone Edge. There was no more time.

* * *

><p>Tsunami never spoke a word of what happened to him during the week that he had spent away from Eric and Fernelia. He also thought about it as little as possible. It was a time in his life, however brief, that he wanted to forget forever.<p>

He drifted around Olivine, the nearest city, completely lost and devoid of hope. People had started to recognize what he was. They called him a freak and an abomination. They said that he was a mix of human and Pokémon that must have come about from the foulest of deeds.

Tsunami had no idea what they were talking about and he had no desire to find out what it was.

Those were dark days, filled with fighting and running and starving to death in deserted alleys. He found a torn and ratty brown cloth that he used to cover up the sail on his back. He pulled it tight around his head and although it made it more difficult to hear, at least people stopped recognizing his Pokémon traits.

But it was that recognition that ended up saving him.

On the night of the sixth day, after he had been forced to leave Eric behind, a strange man found him huddled behind a garbage bin.

"You're a Swampert, aren't you?" The man looking down at Tsunami asked.

"Who wants to know?" Tsunami countered.

"My name is Mr. Pole," the stranger started, "I work for Alfred Silph. I think I could help you."

"Why the hell should Silph Co. give a damn about me?"

"Well," Mr. Pole sighed, "to be honest, my company itself does not care, nor does it know that you exist. But the man I work for does. Alfred Silph has his own interests separate from his father's company. Interests like yourself."

Tsunami lifted his gaze up to the man standing in front of him. He looked sincere enough, but why should somebody like this really care about him?

"I had heard rumors that people in this town had seen a Swampert-man," Pole explained, "I was surprised to hear that you didn't have a trainer with you."

"I don't have a trainer at all," Tsunami looked away. He wasn't going to get Eric involved in this. No matter what Eric believed, his Aunt Rita was right. He was better off without Tsunami. Turning into a human was a useless, fairy-tale of an idea. It turned him into dead weight that couldn't do anything more than what he did as a Pokémon. It was best for Eric to move on.

"You're lying," Pole said matter-of-factly, "I did some research of my own. And I discovered a few things that no one else in this town knows."

Tsunami looked up into the stranger's face, again. He didn't know where this was leading, but if this man really was backed by Alfred Silph then there would be little that he couldn't do.

"Would you like to see Eric again?" Pole asked, "Because I'm going over there now to have a little chat with him and Fernelia. You could come along, if you like, Tsunami."

That night, Pole paid a visit to the estate of Eric's parents. He found the nine-year-old boy exactly where he had expected to, asleep in the garden with his only remaining human Pokémon. He woke them both up and reunited them with Tsunami. But he had already made bigger plans.

"This is not the first time we've helped people like you," Pole explained, "human Pokémon are very restricted in what they can accomplish in this world. Even if you manage to hide what you are, you are still a long way from belonging in this world."

"What can we do?" Tsunami was eager for answers. He had seen firsthand how cruel the world could be. He didn't want Eric or Fernelia to have to see it. He would do anything to keep that from happening.

"As I said, you are not the first that we've helped," Pole continued, "it will not be easy, but we can make you citizens of Johto. We can give you a life."

"Why does being a citizen of Johto matter?"

Pole smiled, as if he was waiting for Tsunami to ask that question, "Because if you're citizens of Johto, then you will be able to legally adopt Eric as your son."

The human Pokémon and the young boy exchanged bewildered stares. They could become his parents and save him from his torment under Aunt Rita. They could suddenly do for him what they never could have done as Pokémon. Their reason for evolving became clear to them once more.

"In addition," Pole wasn't finished and he still had more good news, "I took the liberty of looking over the last will and testament of Eric's father. According to his will, the house and his inheritance belong to Eric. Now, he doesn't have access to this until he comes of age. Until then, his legal guardian has the right to do as they see fit with it."

"Okay…" Eric understood this better than the human Pokémon. He had seen and heard enough of this grown-up talk to know what it meant, but he still had no idea where Silph was going with this.

"That means that if you were to adopt Eric," Pole paused, "the rights to this estate would belong to you."

Eric's eyes widened. His parents' estate would belong to Tsunami and Fernelia. It would be out of the hands of Aunt Rita. Eric could protect what was left of his parents' memory, keep his human Pokémon and be out from under Aunt Rita's control with one, simple act.

"There's just one problem," Pole took a breath, he didn't want to say this last part, but they needed to know, "in order to adopt Eric, you would need signed permission from Eric's current guardian. Your Aunt Rita."

It only took three more days for Pole to forge all of the necessary paperwork and identification needed to make both Tsunami and Fernelia legal residents of Johto. They had fake names and pictures that were altered to look as though they were normal humans. But they were still powerless.

Aunt Rita still held all of the cards and only with her permission could they take what truly belonged to Eric.

They tried the direct approach and it predictably failed. They told her that Tsunami had become an official citizen of Johto, but he still missed Eric. He would adopt him as his own and take care of him as best as he could. Technically, it was all true.

However, Aunt Rita was well acquainted with the clause in the will of Eric's father. And she was not about to sacrifice what she had acquired. As much as she didn't want Eric around, he was a small price to pay to keep that inheritance.

Defeated, the three returned to their lives. Aunt Rita had beaten them. There was nothing they could do without her permission.

But Tsunami wasn't finished.

"What are you doing in here?" Eric's Aunt Rita snapped at Tsunami when he walked into her study, alone, "you have no right to even be in this house!"

Calmly, Tsunami walked around the study, examining the room. He waited for the door to slide shut. He didn't want Eric to overhear what he was about to do.

"I don't know if you know this," Tsunami began, "but Eric taught me a lot of neat tricks when I was a Pokémon. Tricks that I still have." He turned on his heel and fired an Ice Beam at the door to the study. The water froze on contact with the wood and he directed it all around the doorframe. In moments he had frozen it shut.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Aunt Rita screeched, standing up. Ignoring her, Tsunami continued to walk around the study. He picked up a book off of the shelf.

"I still can't read very well," he shook his head, "Eric's been teaching me, but it's hard. I can't even read my name on this thing." He removed the fake ID that Pole had provided from his pocket. He flapped the piece of plastic back and forth. He still didn't really believe the amount of power that it held. But he didn't need to understand it; he just needed to know that it could bring him, Fernelia and Eric back together again.

"What do you want?" Aunt Rita finally started to get the hint.

"You know what I want," Eric put the book and his ID back and removed the adoption papers from the front pocket of his jacket. One signature; that was all he needed.

"You can't make me," Aunt Rita said defiantly. Tsunami had to give her credit. She was a strong, stubborn woman. But she was selfish and she was hurting Eric and the memory of his parents.

"I think I can," Tsunami shot back, his voice as cold as the Ice Beam he had used to freeze the door shut. He walked over to the desk and slammed the small bundle of papers down on top of it, "sign it now and you won't have to find out."

"You can't hurt me," Aunt Rita's voice shook a little this time, "if you do I can sue you and have you thrown in jail. Then you won't ever see Eric again."

Being forced to imagine that possibility hurt, but it also made him angry. He could use that.

"I'm not afraid of that," Tsunami growled and slammed his hands down against the desk.

"Of course you are," Aunt Rita smirked, "I can see it in your eyes."

"Fine, then," Tsunami backed off, "but you're just as scared of me hurting you. So we'll just have to see who's more afraid." Suddenly, he seized her wrist and twisted.

"What do you think you're-" Tsunami scrambled over the desk and bent her arm back around her. He bent it in a direction that it didn't want to go. It was easy for him. He had to force himself to go slowly. If he wasn't careful, there would be noticeable damage. He might even accidentally rip her arm off. If he did that, there really would be no turning back.

The woman in his grip shrieked against the pain, but he wasn't going to stop. Not for anything.

"SIGN IT!" he screamed in her ear.

She might have been stubborn, but she wasn't stupid. The woman's hand frantically began groping for a pen. Tsunami eased his hold as he watched her scribble something he couldn't read onto the paper.

His heart racing and his hands clammy with sweat, Tsunami snatched up the paper and released Aunt Rita. He kicked open the frozen door, knocking bits of icicle out into the hallway. It wasn't until he had rounded the nearest corner and was well out of sight that he let his terror show.

But Eric was standing there, his eyes wide with fear. With no small effort, Tsunami composed himself again. He was a father now, after all.

"Tsunami," Eric began, "what did you do?"

"It's no big deal," Tsunami shook his head, "here." He handed Eric the signed adoption papers. Then he patted his son's shoulder before walking away, "nothing to worry about. It's just some adult stuff."

* * *

><p>Tsunami was on one knee, racked with pain and barely able to see straight. But it made little difference. He could see nothing but the human Crobat, taunting him with its presence while it prepared the attack that would kill him.<p>

He hurled the sharpened boulder at his opponent, throwing the last of his strength into it. At long last, the Stone Edge connected with the Crobat's head, sending him sailing backwards and spinning in a pinwheel. Blood sprayed out, raining down onto the battlefield.

After four or five complete rotations, the human Crobat slowed to a stop. Its face was a bloody mess. His nose was broken, as well as a number of his crooked teeth and there was a horrendous gash in the center of his forehead that bled freely.

The thin, bat-wings flapped a few more times and Tsunami thought, for a terrifying moment, that it wasn't over. But the human Crobat's eyes closed and it pitched forward and dropped. With a softened thud, it landed on the ground in front of Tsunami. It did not get back up.

Tsunami breathed deeply as he dropped onto his hands and knees and stared at the ground. He did it. He had beaten it. It was all he could do, so it had to be enough.

Smiling, he closed his eyes and let the darkness take him this time. He could rest, now.

* * *

><p>AN: Stone Edge never hits when I really need it to…<p>

Thanks for reading!


	46. The Next Adversary

Chapter 45

Eric was frozen in place, staring at Tsunami's collapsed form. He had watched the conclusion of the battle in mortified silence. Hardly daring to breathe, he watched his human Swampert fight a battle that would end in either his death or a meaningless victory.

He would've stayed like that for hours if the stadium platform around him hadn't begun to slowly lower itself.

His mind was still numb. Ever since the second Air Slash had ripped through Tsunami's shoulder, the match had been over. At least, it _should_ have been over. Tsunami should have stopped, should have given up, but he hadn't. Why did he have to do something like that? Why take such a stupid risk?

Eric had wanted to beat Farin's crazed human Crobat too…but for Tsunami to risk his life…. How stupid could he be?

"That was an interesting display, just now," Farin's cold voice crackled through the speaker, "tell me, how did you get him to do that?"

Eric didn't bother answering. It figured that Farin wouldn't know that human Pokémon could override their usual limits. None of the pitiful, warped creations that fought for him wanted to die for him. But, on the other hand, Eric was already wishing that it wasn't possible.

The platform shook as it touched the ground, jolting Eric out of his paralysis. He shot out onto the field, racing towards Tsunami as fast as his legs could carry him. Amidst the blood, the dirt, and the spots of poisonous sludge, Eric slid down and knelt by his adopted father.

Tsunami's breath was ragged and irregular, but distinct. He was alive, just unconscious.

Eric sat back and exhaled. He remained there, panting in a mixture of terror and relief. Eric wouldn't be able to take it if Tsunami hadn't survived. Eric had already buried one set of parents in his short life, another would break him.

He wondered why Tsunami had taken such a stupid risk. If just one more attack had hit him, Tsunami would've been killed. A gamble like that in a match like this…what had he wanted that was worth risking his life?

But Eric already knew. He had started the fight seeking revenge against Farin. The man represented everything that Eric hated in his life. Farin had tortured him and nearly succeeded in tearing his family apart. It wasn't planned that way, but it made little difference to Eric. Blinded by anger, he had sought revenge. He had used Fernelia and Tsunami as weapons. He had used his _parents_ as _weapons_.

It wasn't until Tsunami went over the edge and began risking his life that Eric saw the error in what he was trying to do. Tsunami had stopped obeying him and acted out of foolish pride; attacking an opponent in a fight where they stood to gain nothing.

Eric had done the exact same thing.

He was just like his dad…

The thought made a smile crack across Eric's face.

He _was_ just like Tsunami. The idea had never occurred to him before. But he felt that was a good thing. That was the way that family should be.

But most importantly, his family was tired and hurt. They needed him and here he was moping in the center of the stadium, with a crowd of people staring down at him.

He withdrew Tsunami's Pokéball and recalled him. His unconscious form faded as the red light enveloped him. Then he was gone. Eric stood up to leave, never looking back at the crowd. The boy needed to get to the Pokémon Center.

And once Fernelia and Tsunami were fully recovered, he would have to yell at Tsunami for taking such a selfish risk. Because that was something else that families did.

* * *

><p>"I hope they're alright…" Maple prayed as she watched Eric leave the stadium.<p>

"Yeah…" Mark nodded, relieved that Tsunami had taken no more damage after passing his limit, "Tsunami should be okay. I think he's just knocked out. That was too close, though…" He sighed and sat back as far as sitting on a bleacher would allow him to.

After Mark's outburst, the other patrons took on a more subdued attitude towards the fight. Some wondered if, perhaps, the boy had realized something that they hadn't. But most were simply confused, maybe even a little agitated that somebody had the nerve to try and interrupt the match. It hadn't lasted much longer anyway and the attempt Mark had made to save Tsunami's life was easily ignored.

As the other patrons filed out of the stadium around them, several shot Mark strange looks of angered disapproval. Such looks of malcontent hurt Mark, but he knew that he could endure it. He knew why he had done what he did and he would have gladly repeated it.

But after the fourth time this happened, Mark started to feel very uneasy.

"Come on," he urged the two human Pokémon girls next to him, "let's get out of here."

Cherry shook her head.

The crowd was up and moving again and her fear had returned with it. She wasn't going anywhere for a long time.

"Right…wait a second, I'm stupid…" Mark shook his head and scoffed at his earlier absent-mindedness as he removed Cherry's Pokéball from his belt, "we can just take you down in this."

The little girl looked at the ball a long time.

"Do I have to?" she said meekly, her small face crinkling with worry.

"Now, what's wrong?" there was an uncharacteristic edge to Mark's voice.

"It's…small in there," Cherry explained.

"Dammit…" Mark groaned. Of course. Cherry had a fear of crowds and small spaces. He supposed that he couldn't hold it against her. After all, he didn't want to think about how many new personality quirks he'd pick up after spending three months in a Team Deus prison.

"I'm sorry…" Cherry squeaked and inched closer to Maple. The Leafeon-girl's presence was becoming much more comforting than the human boy's at the moment.

"No, it's okay," Mark agreed with clear reluctance, "we can just wait, then. It's not like we're in a hurry." He shrugged and began watching the crowd as they emptied the stadium.

Cherry and Maple followed his lead, no less uneasy. This particular side of Mark was a rarity and neither one of them had seen it before. Exactly what was wrong? Was he upset over the crowd's refusal to listen? Or was it just the disapproval of a small minority that irked him so much?

But even Mark didn't know the answer, and they were forced to drop the subject.

After a few minutes, Maple spoke, trying to lift the mood.

"It was a good match, though," she smiled and nodded to herself, "I didn't know Fernelia was that strong."

"The Tropius-lady?" Cherry asked, "yeah, me neither."

"I'm still really happy that Tsunami beat that horrible Crobat, too," Maple added, "He and Fernelia each got one!"

"Yeah!" Cherry's enthusiasm began building again as the two Pokémon girls relived the match, "I mean, Farin really won, but Eric kinda…tied with him. So, it's not all bad!"

The enthusiasm between the two girls continued to build as the stadium emptied.

As they sat there discussing Eric's match, Mark began to feel left out. He became worried about his unexplained, short-tempered attitude and the effect it had on Cherry and Maple. Then he began to worry about what was becoming of his relationship, whatever it was, with the two of them.

It wasn't long before his head started to hurt and he felt like he needed a change in scenery. But Cherry wasn't ready to leave for another ten minutes.

* * *

><p>"You stupid, selfish, asshole!" Eric screamed at Tsunami in the patient's room of the Pokémon Center, an hour later, "why the hell did you think that was a good idea?" Eric, of course, already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear Tsunami say it.<p>

Tsunami did not meet Eric's gaze as he put his ripped shirt and jacket back on. The wounds on his shoulders had closed back up and he was once again at the peak of his health. For a human Pokémon, there was little that a good Revive and Hyper Potion couldn't fix.

"Is it true, Tsunami?" Fernelia sat in the corner of the room. Small spots of purple goo, left behind by the Crobat's Sludge Bomb, dotted her forest green and earth brown dress. She too was once again fully healed, but Tsunami could not ignore the hurt in her voice and eyes.

It _was_ stupid. _And_ selfish of him to risk his life just for the sake of his pride. He had no excuse. He had ignored Eric's orders and continued fighting a losing battle.

How could he have so easily forgotten what was more important?

"It's true," Tsunami admitted, "I...just..." He let the sentence drop and started over, "they hurt us. I wasn't going to let them get away with that. I won't let anyone hurt our family."

Fernelia stood up, walked over to him and slapped him, hard, across his face.

"And what would our family be if we lost you?" Fernelia yelled, "I don't care what excuse you have! If you leave us, I won't forgive you!" Tsunami stood stock still and stared at Fernelia. He had never seen her this angry before.

"I'm sorry," Tsunami whispered as Fernelia began to cry, "you're right. It was stupid," he stretched his arms around her and held her, "and it won't happen again."

"Do you mean that?" Eric was so touched by his parents' embrace that he nearly dropped his act and joined them. But he wasn't finished. He needed to hear Tsunami say it and mean it. Eric had forgiven him, but he needed to make sure Tsunami really wasn't going to risk his life the next time.

Tsunami looked down at his son and thought about what that meant. He had suffered for him, fought for him, bled for him, and he was more than willing to die for him. But when he had risked his life against the Crobat, he hadn't done it for Eric; he had done it for himself. As Eric said, that was selfish of him. If he had died it wouldn't have been for Eric, it would've been for himself. His heart sank with the shame of it.

"Yes," he said. He released Fernelia and walked over to Eric and knelt in front of him, "I mean that. If I die, I won't-"

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE!" Eric screamed. He took a deep breath in and out. Tsunami's eyes were wide with shock over Eric's outburst. After a moment, he continued, "I don't care what reason you have. I don't want you to die..."

"Fair enough," Tsunami nodded and hugged his son, "then I promise not to die."

Eric was old enough, and mature enough, to know that Tsunami couldn't possibly keep a promise like that. Still, it helped to hear him say that. Maybe if he believed it hard enough then it could be true. Promising not to die was a lie. But Eric wanted to believe that lie too much.

"Okay..." Eric pulled away from Tsunami and nodded, "I forgive you, then."

There was the ghost of a smile around the edges of Eric's mouth. Tsunami had hoped for better, but he decided that he didn't deserve it yet. He would have to earn it back from Eric.

* * *

><p>There was a soft knock on the door followed by the even softer voice of the Blissey-nurse from the opposite side.<p>

"I'm sorry to disturb you," she apologized, "but you have some visitors. A Mark Diamond wishes to see you."

Eric called out to let Mark, Maple and Cherry into the room. They were a welcome sight after what Eric's family had been through that morning. The two girls seemed as cheerful as ever, however, Mark looked a bit more distant and care-worn than usual.

Actually, no, that wasn't quite right. Fernelia was the only one to notice, but she managed to pick up on Maple's subtle uneasiness. She suspected that she was worried about Mark. Fernelia also took note that the Leafeon-girl was becoming more adept at hiding her concern.

"Sorry about that battle," Mark began, a little awkwardly, "I mean, having to go up against Farin like that."

"It's okay," Eric answered, though it was obvious that he didn't feel okay, "it's...part of the tournament, I guess."

"Right..." Mark still found it unfair that opponents were selected at random, but he was at least coming to terms with it.

"You did really well!" Maple, as always, was cheerful and quick to help lighten the mood, but she was only slightly less awkward than Mark, "I mean, in a way you sorta tied with him. That's pretty good!"

"Thanks," Eric nodded, a little more cheerful, himself.

Mark turned to look at Tsunami. Aside from the rips in his jacket, the Swampert-man appeared fine. That was a relief, to say the least, but Mark wasn't quite sure how to say what came next.

"Are you...feeling okay?" he tried. He could've done worse.

"Me?" Tsunami asked, "yeah, I'm fine," then he remembered Mark's attempt at ending the fight, "oh, yeah...sorry to have to worry you. But, thanks for looking out for me." He said it with genuine sincerity.

"Oh," Mark began, "well, as long as you're okay." He felt a little bit better knowing that Tsunami appreciated the help, even if he had ignored it at the time. However, Eric and Fernelia shifted a little. Tsunami's brief moment of life-risking battling was clearly a sensitive issue. Mark began worrying if he and the other two Pokémon-girls were intruding.

"What's wrong with you two?" Cherry asked with a fantastic lack of tact.

Eric and Fernelia snapped to attention at the small Charmander-girl's question. They stared at her in silence, unsure of how to respond.

"Cherry," Mark warned, "please."

"'Please' what?" she countered, "I just asked what's wrong."

"Uhh..." Mark stammered, thrown off-balance by Cherry's bluntness, "well, you should be more polite."

The girl peered up at her trainer, her eyes asking why politeness was an issue. But Mark had no response prepared and he stared back with an equal amount of confusion.

"It's okay, Mark," Fernelia spoke for herself and Eric, "we're just tired from the battle. It's nothing serious." Lying was unfamiliar ground for Fernelia and she fooled no one.

"Oh, alright," Mark was almost too willing to let the matter drop. He supposed that he had no real right to grill them for an answer.

"That's not true," once again, Cherry bluntly pointed out the truth. Her talent for picking out lies was one that she could use very often.

"Cherry, stop it!" Mark scolded her this time.

She shot her gaze directly at Mark, challenging him. Her emerald eyes narrowed as if to ask who he thought he was to talk to her like that. She had no reason to fear him. They were friends and she had relied on him before, but that alone wouldn't be enough to force her to back down. In her eyes, she had done nothing wrong. Whatever he was accusing her of, she was innocent.

Mark, on the other hand, nearly folded right at the beginning. He had helped rescue this girl just the day before. She had been so small and scared then. And even as they walked around Himitsu Island together, Cherry seemed like a perfectly agreeable little girl.

But, maybe that wasn't what _she_ wanted.

It was true, Cherry had been weak and scared when they found her. She had been forgotten and abandoned in her cell. Mark and the others had taken her away and helped her, but they still knew next to nothing about what happened to her down there.

What if she felt like the same thing was happening to her again, but only above-ground? It made absolute sense. Out of one prison where she had learned to trust no one, into another. She could walk around in this prison, but if she was still restricted from doing what she wanted, what difference did it make?

But Mark hadn't been trying to restrict her. He was just trying to be sensitive to Eric and Fernelia. Cherry didn't see the point in such sensitivity. How could he teach her that? More importantly, how could he teach her that this wasn't the Team Deus base; that she could trust him?

The others in the room likewise didn't know what to do in the face of Cherry's defiance. Maple was especially fearful as she watched her trainer and her newfound little sister fight. As it was, the other four were watching what was rapidly becoming a temper tantrum. But they all knew what the problem was. After all, Mark had not even been her trainer for twenty-four hours yet. There was still plenty that he needed to learn about her before she respected him.

That standard was one that held true even for normal Pokémon.

"So..." Eric tried, "did you guys want something? Or just coming to say 'hi'?"

"Oh," Mark blinked and pulled away from his confrontation with Cherry, "well, there was one thing." He noticed Cherry subtly grinning in satisfaction as he turned away.

Backing down from his human Charmander was, in all likelihood, a terrible decision. Mark knew it in an instant, but he had no idea how to handle Cherry just then. Their relationship was new and strange to him. He wasn't ready for a direct confrontation with her. He needed more time...

"I wanted to talk to you about finding one of the Four," Mark looked directly at Eric, trying his best not to imagine that grin on Cherry's face growing bigger after her victory.

"Oh, sure," Eric nodded, quickly, "good idea."

"I've heard PureBlueSky has a match tonight, if you're interested," Tsunami pointed out.

"Really?" Mark brightened at this turn of events. Suddenly, he envisioned meeting PureBlueSky in the same way that he had met Aurum. Aurum had been hard and gruff on the outside, but he had still agreed to help Mark and Maple. Perhaps PureBlueSky would do the same.

Remembering Aurum, Mark wondered what had happened to the old man. The last time he had seen him was during his match against Tristan. After it was over, Aurum and Katana had both vanished as if they hadn't been there at all.

In truth, Aurum was going to be angry the next time Mark saw him. He dreaded the thought, but it would be good to see the Golden Trainer again. He had taught Mark and Maple too much for Mark to truly dislike him.

"Do you two want to go to another match today?" Mark smiled at Maple and Cherry. Maple, of course, grinned back and nodded eagerly. Cherry, however, tried to hide her excitement, but Mark saw through her easily. It was a quick fix, but she had forgiven him. for the moment.

The small, red-headed Charmander-girl grinned and nodded slowly.

There was another knock on the door and the Blissey-nurse announced the arrival of another one of their friends. This time, the small group turned to see Lily entering, followed closely by the always vigilant Shinobi.

"I'm sorry," Lily said in a meek voice, "I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?"

"We'll live," Eric said bobbing his head side to side, debating whether or not they really were okay. The phrase itself had taken on a new meaning. After all, the three of them living had been something that he had taken for granted when he woke up that morning.

The nurse closed the door behind Shinobi. When the latch sounded, the others in the room realized that no one else was going to be following Lily and her human Ninjask into the room.

"Umm...Lily?" Maple was the first to show her concern over it, "where are Silver and Aroma?"

"Huh?" Lily turned to face Maple, "Aroma and Silvy? Oh, they're off by themselves." She spoke in a hurry, as if eager to get the words out quickly.

"Is something wrong?" Tsunami asked.

"No, no..." Lily shook her head, "they're fine. They're not in any trouble; they just wanted to be alone for a little while." Maple glanced at Shinobi as he crouched by Lily's side. She watched him sigh ever so slightly and close his crimson eyes. She also sensed that he was in pain. Not physical pain, but an emotional pain. That was certainly strange...

"Well, as long as they're okay," Mark shrugged.

"Yeah..." Lily nodded.

The rest of the room moved on, but Maple continued to worry over Silver and Aroma. The thing that bothered her most had been Shinobi's strange reaction to what Lily had said. Maple had never seen Shinobi show any kind of emotion. What did that mean?

She thought about how Lily answered. Silver and Aroma were "off by themselves." But Lily had told them earlier that morning that their group had been training. Shouldn't they have been together? And wasn't it odd for them to split up again so quickly after being reunited in the underground of the Team Deus base?

Something else was going on. Something that the others didn't notice.

Maple looked over at Cherry. She wondered why the Charmander-girl, who was so adept at picking out a person's lies, did not notice.

Lily was telling the truth, Maple realized. But there was more to it than that. And why did it bother her so much?

She blinked a few times and thought. Then she remembered something important.

Back when she and Mark had first arrived, they met Silver and Lily in the hotel room. Silver had been running away from Lily at the time, causing the young girl to slip into a mild depression. Maple could clearly remember the hurt that had been in her eyes that day.

She remembered Silver's strength and determination to rescue Aroma from Team Deus. She remembered each of their expressions when they had been reunited in the prison.

Then Maple very clearly saw the whole picture. Silver and Aroma were in love with each other, but Lily was also in love with Silver. Maple didn't know the expression of a "love triangle," but now she knew the pain that Lily was trying to hide.

She wanted to hug the poor girl, but she didn't think it would be enough to help.

"Who's PureBlueSky?" Lily was asking Mark.

"Uhh…" he turned to look around the room, but he realized that everyone there was a newcomer to the tournament. None of them had ever seen PureBlueSky. They only knew about him from what others had told them.

"Nobody really knows," Tsunami shrugged, "he hasn't been seen in three years. All we know is that he's the champion of the last tournament…and probably the strongest trainer in the world."

"Oh…" Lily wasn't quite sure how to respond, "that's neat, I guess. But he's fighting tonight, right?"

"Yeah," Mark nodded, "our plan is to go to the fight and try to meet up with him afterwards."

"Okay," Lily nodded, "then I guess I'll go to, then."

"Great!"

"It'll be good to pick up some tips," Lily grinned slyly, "then I can use them against you."

"Huh?"

"Oh, didn't you know?" Tsunami half-smiled at Mark's dumbstruck expression, "you and Lily are fighting each other in the next round of the tournament."

Mark's gaze slowly swiveled back from Tsunami to look at the girl standing in front of him. She smiled and nodded, her hazel eyes glinting a bit.

"It will be an honor to face you in battle," Shinobi turned towards Maple and lowered his head, in a show of respect.

Maple looked down at him and remembered the incredible amount of power he had shown against Lionel, Farin and the rest of Team Deus.

"Umm…you too?" Was all she could think to say.

* * *

><p>AN: yep, Mark vs. Lily is happening. And once again, they have a lot of training to do.<p> 


	47. The ShutIn Champion

Chapter 46

For Cara and Alex to eat lunch together, it took a total of four tables and ten chairs to seat the humans and their seven-to-nine human Pokémon. Dozer, Alex's Snorlax, neglected a chair entirely and sprawled himself out on the ground along the head of their makeshift table. Next to him sat Sparks and the Dugtrio triplets, who sat in their usual formation. On the opposite end of the table, the two humans sat across from each other. At Alex's suggestion, Serenade and Ebony formed a small barrier in between the two of them and the crowd of Pokémon people. That way, the two wouldn't have to worry about Cascade and Coraline constantly vying for his attention. If they were lucky, they might actually be able to hold a conversation.

"New glasses?" Alex asked.

"What?!" Cara half-shouted over the chattering human Pokémon. From what she could gather, Sparks was trying to hit on Cascade while Ebony and Serenade mocked him, as usual.

"I asked about your glasses!" Alex tried again and pointed for emphasis.

"Oh!" Cara realized the pointing helped a lot, "yeah, I lost one of my contacts when I got to the island!"

"They look nice!"

"What?!"

"_They look nice_!"

"SHUT UP FOR A FEW MINUTES!" Cara screamed down the length of the table and all but Dozer turned to stare at her, "thank you."

"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Alex took advantage of the temporary silence.

"Actually, there was," Cara started, "were you at this morning's match?"

"Can't say I was," Alex shook his head, "why?"

"Well…" Cara thought about the best way to explain it, "there was this weird guy competing in the match. He's…I don't know how to describe it…"

"Evil? Insane? Creepy?" Alex suggested.

"Hmm…creepy, I guess," Cara decided, "we saw him at one of our shows before. He said that he never saw a human Pokémon before. But then we saw him again at that match…"

"Okay…" Alex rubbed his chin and considered where she was going with this.

"Doesn't that seem weird to you?" She asked.

"Kinda…" Alex mentally sorted out the pieces she had given him, "why would he pretend like he didn't know if he really did?"

"Exactly!" Cara exclaimed, pleased that Alex saw her point, "and he used these really weird human Pokémon too."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, right," Cara then realized that she should have brought up that part first, "his human Pokémon, he didn't give them any orders for the entire fight."

"That's not _that_ weird," Alex shrugged. It was a little more common for human Pokémon to fight without orders than normal Pokémon. Issuing orders usually made their attacks stronger, but they weren't necessary. Alex _had_ been to Aurum's first match of the tournament and it wasn't the first time he had seen one of the Four claim victory without uttering a word.

"Well, it gets weirder," Cara had no idea why she had so much trouble talking to Alex. They had known each other for almost two years now, but it made little difference. "They were a lot stronger than what they should be and they didn't say anything either."

"Hmm…" Alex was still missing something. He was beginning to suspect that it was one of those times where 'you just had to be there.'

"They were exactly like a transitional stage Pokémon," Serenade clarified.

"Ohh," Alex nodded as everything snapped together, "now I get it."

"Sorry…" Cara apologized.

"Nah, it's okay," Alex waved away Cara's concerns and she immediately felt better, "I think I'm just worried about my match, is all," he looked down at the table and bit his lip before continuing, "anyway, that does sound kinda suspicious."

"It does?!" Cara was glad to hear that she wasn't crazy.

"Well, yeah," Alex began, "you ever hear of somebody using transitional Pokémon that _wasn't_ dangerous?"

"No," admittedly, aside from the man the announcer called Richard Edwards; Cara had never known anyone who used transitional Pokémon at all.

"Exactly," Alex said with conviction, "and if he's pretending to be somebody he's not, then something strange is going on."

"Right!" Cara nodded, eager to agree with him, "but you don't know anything about him?"

"Sorry," Alex shook his head, "I can ask around, though. I'm sure somebody will know something about him."

"Alright, Alex," Cara smiled, "thanks."

"No problem," he leaned back, glad to be of service.

Cara had come to the right person. If anyone would know anything about the man in the lavender suit, it would be Alex.

Alex was one of those people that knew everyone. Whenever Cara had the great fortune of meeting someone with a human Pokémon, chances were they knew Alex as well. Even outside of the tournament, Alex's social circle was huge. Sometimes it was even eerie how everyone she met had met him first. He had friends everywhere and Cara always wanted to be like that.

"So…about your match…" Cara tried to change subjects. She didn't know what else to talk about but she wanted the conversation to keep going.

"Yeah, it's tonight," Alex checked his watch, "six hours away, to be precise."

"Right…" Cara continued, "You're against PureBlueSky…right?"

Alex nodded. Round One and he was fighting last year's champion. Leading up to a match like that, there was a strange mix of emotions working through him. He didn't believe he could win, but at the same time he hadn't come to the tournament looking for victory.

Suddenly, he could feel the weight of Whisper's Pokéball at his belt. As if it had suddenly gained ten pounds.

"Do you think you can…?" Cara left the question unfinished.

"No," Alex grinned as he shook his head, "no, I can't win. I'll be lucky to get one or two, to be honest."

"You're okay with that?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "besides," he lowered his voice, and it became difficult to hear him again over the re-bounding chatter of the human Pokémon around them, "I'm just here to let _him_ roam free."

"Right…" Cara had known Alex long enough to know about Whisper. She had never seen Alex's fourth human Pokémon, but she had heard plenty of stories about the bloodthirsty companion that was Alex's strongest ally. If one could really call a monster like Whisper an ally.

"So, you're doing it tonight?" Cara also began to whisper. The two of them instinctively feared Whisper. In fact, so did the rest of Alex's human Pokémon. Even the enormous Dozer shied away from him.

"It _has_ to be tonight," Alex explained, "there's no better opponent. If anybody can…help, it'll be PureBlueSky."

"I hope so," Cara looked away and tried to think of something more pleasant to talk about, "oh, hey!" She suddenly had an idea, "did you hear? I'm fighting RiverofTears next round!"

"Oh…" Alex was caught off guard by the sudden shift, "that's cool."

"Yeah, it's…kinda funny, isn't it?" Cara wanted to call it destiny, but she couldn't do that in front of Alex, "you're fighting PureBlueSky and I'm fighting RiverofTears."

"Oh, yeah," Alex nodded, "I guess that is kinda weird."

"Have you heard the rumors about them?" Cara had to focus to keep herself from trembling, she had almost said it!

"What rumors?" Alex had seen this situation many times before and he knew where it was going. What to do? He liked Cara, but…

"About how they're…you know…" Cara explained, mildly blushing now.

Up to this point, Coraline, Alex's human Banette, had been following the entire conversation. She was bored. And talking with Serenade and Ebony did little to help pass the time. Instead, she had turned her attention to Cara and Alex. She didn't like the way that the girl looked at him.

Sensing danger, she did the first thing that came to mind. Using Shadow Sneak, she melted into the ground and materialized behind Sparks. She kicked him in the back of the head, launching him face-first into the table.

Chaos followed.

It took the two trainers twenty minutes to end the raging battle between the two opposing sides of human Pokémon. Jets of ice and water sprayed back and forth, mixed with waves of dark energy that Ebony fired, along with the triplets tossing boulders and Coraline fading in out of existence, fighting in a hit and run style. Through it all, Dozer continued to snooze at the far end of the table.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Cara screamed at the group as an Ice Beam, whether it was Cascade's or Serenade's was hard to tell, came within an inch of her head. The human Pokémon backed away guiltily, and then the table collapsed entirely.

Alex looked at the carnage and couldn't help but laugh. Apparently Whisper wasn't the only one who was ready for a fight against PureBlueSky.

Despite the large number of human Pokémon trainers that Alex knew, he had never met PureBlueSky. He wondered what he was like.

* * *

><p>The sun was too hot. It was too bright, as well. He should've worn lighter colored clothing. Not to mention, there were too many people on the streets. All in all, PureBlueSky was in misery as he followed Tempest, Flurry and the small boy that had convinced him to come to this cursed island.<p>

Sky trailed behind the others, his hands jammed firmly into his pockets. His eyes darted back and forth and up and down the street, hoping that no one would recognize him. Or worse, that he would see RiverofTears.

To comfort himself, he played out a small fantasy in his head at times like these. His favorite variation was the one where River came up on him from behind and tackled him, put her hands over his eyes, or something of that nature. In some cases, he whirled on her and stopped in the middle of attacking her. This one seemed like the most realistic option, largely because he evaluated himself as an easily startled person that would respond to such physical affection very poorly.

He was right about one thing, at least.

"Sky?"

Tempest didn't try to startle him, but at the same time she couldn't help but smirk when he jumped.

"Shut up," Sky half-scowled, half-smiled back at the Salamence-woman. It was rare to see her smile and he often couldn't stop himself from smiling back. Even if it was at his expense.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Getting Sky to go outside was a challenge and she was very thoroughly enjoying her second successful attempt at it. The first time, it had been just herself and Sky. He had tolerated it well enough. At least, as well as could be expected from a shut-in.

But for the second trip, he was much quieter. Tempest had gradually learned that rule about Sky. He talked little to begin with, but the less he talked the less he was actually having a good time. The difference, however, was slight and Tempest was positive that she was the only one that noticed.

Still, knowing the symptom didn't tell her the root cause of Sky's withdrawal into himself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sky evaded Tempest's question.

"Liar," she said firmly before heading back to walk beside Flurry and Ian. If he wasn't going to talk to her, what was the point in trying?

Sky thought about calling her back, but he decided that he deserved that. Instead, he went back to worrying about how uncomfortable he felt.

A small group of teenagers consisting of three human girls and two human Pokémon boys walked past. The taller boy, a human Sceptile, whispered something to the group. The girls then burst out into frantic giggling from just a foot behind Sky.

In his current self-conscious state, bordering on paranoia, Sky began obsessing over what they had started to laugh at. Was it him? Had they recognized him? He must look awkward, dressed mostly in black in the late spring heat and trailing at least three yards behind his friends. Suddenly, everything about him felt wrong and needed to be fixed. His gaudy hotel room felt more inviting by the second.

"Sky?"

Tempest was back again and Sky was startled even worse this time. However, Tempest didn't smirk this time. Once was enough, now it was sad.

"What?" Sky's voice had a slight edge to it.

"Nothing," Tempest shrugged, but Sky still looked at her, awaiting the answer he knew was coming, "you know, if you're really this uncomfortable, we can go back."

"I'm fine," Sky countered, "why are we out here, anyway?"

"We're showing Ian the island," Tempest explained.

"It's been four days and he still hasn't seen the whole thing?" Sky asked.

"No," Tempest replied.

"And you call me a liar," Sky sighed.

Tempest closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. Taking Sky outside was like pulling teeth. He hated it and didn't see any value in it. What was there to do outside anyway? Everything Sky wanted to do required being inside.

True, she had lied about Ian. The boy had seen everything on the island, probably twice. Everything that they could show him, at least. Ian was, more or less, an excuse to make Sky leave the hotel room.

The two of them alone had been a success. Sky hadn't complained and had been less self-critical before. Tempest had to admit, that made her happy, but it was a feeling that would have to wait. There were more important things for her to worry about.

"Where are we anyway?" Sky stopped and looked around, suddenly recognizing his surroundings and returning to reality. "Oh, no," Sky breathed. A moment later, he turned on his heel to start walking away.

"No, you don't," Tempest grabbed his arm and pulled him backwards as if she were disciplining a four-year-old.

"Why did you bring me here?" Sky tried to be angry, but there was too much panic in his voice. He couldn't be here. It was too soon. He wasn't ready.

"Because if you don't do it, you're only going to get worse," Tempest held her anger. She had been lucky that they had come this far before Sky realized her true intentions.

"And how do you know that?!" Sky snapped, "And what difference would it make anyway?!"

"Just do it already!" Tempest scowled, "we're already here, you might as well. It's not like she's going to kill you." _But I might if you don't_, she added to herself.

Ian and Flurry had stopped to watch the spectacle of Sky attempting to flee the area. Tempest still held his arm, but there was something very cartoonish about the way that Sky was trying to squirm out of her grasp.

"What's with him?" Ian asked Flurry.

"I think he's realized what we were planning," Flurry shrugged.

"What plan?" this was the first time that Ian had heard the true reason for making Sky leave the hotel room. Tempest had worried that Ian might spoil it well before they managed to get Sky even this close to their goal.

"Do you recognize where we are?" Flurry responded to the small boy.

"I think so…" Ian looked around, but he still didn't understand. There was one small, yet important, part of the tour that Flurry had left out.

"Do you see that house down there?" Flurry pointed to a large house on a street corner, one block farther down the road. The house was larger than Sky's home in Sinnoh, making it into a small mansion. Two families of four could live in it comfortably. Two families of four or one trainer and six human Pokémon.

"RiverofTears lives there," Flurry finished.

"You can't make me!" Sky protested.

"You're going, dammit!" Tempest cursed her trainer. She _could_ force Sky over there. It would take little effort for her to unceremoniously hoist the returning champion over her shoulder and march him directly to River's front door, but that would accomplish nothing. Sky had to do it himself.

"Let go of me," Sky said stubbornly, still trying to pull away from the much stronger human Salamence.

"You're pathetic!" Tempest yelled, "and what if she sees you right now?! What would she think then?!"

That got his attention.

Sky stopped his futile efforts to escape from Tempest and turned back to look at the house. He had been inside many times before, when he was younger. Each time he had gone inside with River, Edge and Aurum. It had become something of a meeting place for the Four. Sky would've called it a clubhouse except that, since they were teenagers and Aurum was only a slightly younger old man, they all felt too old to call it that.

River had grown up on Himitsu Island and it was because of River that Sky and Edge had decided to stay. In the years that followed, Himitsu Island became the site of the origin of human Pokémon. After that, the entire island had advanced by leaps and bounds thanks to Silph and the popularity of the Four. But River's house remained unchanged.

Sky looked away from it.

"I'm sorry, Tempest," he closed his eyes, "but I can't."

Tempest began to scowl at Sky, but then she recognized something new in his voice. He wasn't trying to run, nor was there any more of that childish fear. There was genuine pain in his voice this time. Then she realized that he wasn't ready for this. Something deep inside of PureBlueSky still needed to heal. Her scowl softened.

"There's nothing here anymore." Sky began to walk away in slow, thoughtful steps.

Tempest watched him go, feeling useless and helpless. She didn't know whether to cry or hit something. She had never cried in her life, but if she was going to, she imagined it would be because of Sky.

"It was worth a try," Flurry placed a hand on Tempest's shoulder.

The dragon-lady straightened.

"Flurry," Tempest began, "I promise you. When we leave this island, Sky will be stronger. With or without River, he will move on."

"Okay," Flurry said, though she didn't believe it.

Tempest sighed deeply and thought. There was nothing she could do. She would have to accept this as a loss. But there was still time. Himitsu Island could change people. She knew that better than anyone.

"I need to be alone, right now," she said at last. She unfolded her magnificent wings out to their full length. She crouched low to the ground to get as much air underneath them as possible. "I'll see you tonight," she finished. With one, powerful flap of her wings, Tempest shot skyward, climbing high into the blue skies above their heads.

Flurry peered into the sky to watch as Tempest climbed out of sight. It took only a few seconds for her to become little more than a pair of wings, then a dot. When she lowered her gaze back to street level, she noticed that Sky had stopped and was also watching Tempest fly away. She watched him as he shrugged, shook his head and started walking back to the hotel.

* * *

><p>AN: in some ways I sorta think of PureBlueSky as an alternate main character. His plotline is pretty complicated and by the end of the story, he's probably going to have grown just as much as Mark. We'll just have to see what happens when the two meet each other…<p>

Thanks for reading!


	48. The Battle Plan

Chapter 47

As morning turned into afternoon, battle strategies whirled around in Mark's head. He carefully considered each plan, often jumping from one to the next as he weighed the pros and cons of each. One thing was certain. If he wanted to beat Lily, there was once again a lot of training that needed to be done before he was ready.

Mark had seen Lily's human Pokémon in action against Team Deus, so he knew full well how strong they were. Maple had fought alongside them and even her power boost from the Red State had only brought her up to their level. It hadn't made her any more powerful than that. They had a lot more experience than she did and Lily was clearly a very skilled trainer.

Worse still, Maple had a type disadvantage against both Shinobi and Aroma. The grass-type human Meganium probably wouldn't be an issue for Maple. In that instance, the grass versus grass match-up would work out in Maple's favor. She could simply use Swords Dance to boost her attack strength and break through any defenses Aroma set up. She would also simultaneously be well prepared against anything Aroma used to attack.

However, the opposite would be doubly true if Maple fought Shinobi. The bug and flying type Ninjask would shrug off Maple's Leaf Blade with ease, even after a Swords Dance. Worse still, her alternate attack in Dig, which had won their first fight, was completely useless against Shinobi. As it stood, Maple could not beat him.

So, what were his options?

The first to cross his mind was to add Cherry to the fight. As a fire-type, Maple's inherent disadvantages against Shinobi and Aroma turned into advantages to exploit. Mark had no idea what abilities the small Charmander-girl possessed, but any fire-type attacks could mean the difference between a loss and a win.

Unfortunately, aside from typing, Cherry possessed little to no advantage over Lily's human Pokémon. She may have been a human Pokémon, but she was still an under-evolved Charmander. Worse still, Mark remembered hearing that she had evolved into a girl only a short time after she had joined her first trainer. That meant she still had a very low amount of experience. Mark had trained Maple for two years and she still was only just as powerful as Lily's human Pokémon. To match that kind of training in time to fight Lily would be a daunting task, maybe even impossible.

But what if Cherry didn't even want to fight Lily? She had become friends with Aroma in their short time together in the Team Deus prison. What reason would she have for wanting to fight her?

Even setting that entire mess aside, it felt cruel to put Cherry into a full-scale battle when she was just a little girl. She was ten years old, she shouldn't be fighting. Mark had put himself through enough with sending Maple into these bloody human Pokémon battles. There had to be another way.

"So…what are we doing today?"

"Huh?" Mark looked around the lobby of the Pokémon Center and realized that he had no idea how he had arrived there. Maple was standing in front of him, patiently and cheerfully waiting for him to remember where he was. Next to her, Cherry had an eyebrow raised as she peered up at him. Eric, Lily and the others had gone. Mark only vaguely remembered parting ways with them.

"Can we eat?" Cherry suggested with some annoyance. She had been looking forward to it ever since Eric's match had ended and her patience was starting to wear thin.

"Yeah, sure," Mark agreed, "let's go eat." Mark led the way back to the hotel followed by the two confused and worried Pokémon girls. They walked in silence as Mark further contemplated how to prepare for the match.

If he couldn't use Cherry, his next best option would be to repeat the strategy of his first match. His normal Pokémon would not be as powerful as their part human opponents, but maybe it would be worth a try.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized how lucky he had been in that first match. Tristan had practically walked right into his strategy, adding to its effectiveness. He doubted that Lily would be that reckless. Even if she was, Mark would have to force out Shinobi to even have a chance of it working. If it failed, there would be no back-up plan.

The only other choice he saw was to rethink his approach with using Maple. Dig had served them well against Tristan, but it would be pointless against Lily. It was a wasted ability. If he taught her a different attack, maybe that would be enough.

His bag, back in the hotel room, had the Technical Machine device ready for whenever he needed it.

Mark knew very little about how the device worked. It was used by loading a disc into the machine and attaching a few probes onto the Pokémon's head. It stimulated the brain to allow a Pokémon to learn an ability that it did not learn naturally. There was wide debate over the humaneness of the device as well as its long-term effects on the Pokémon, but the majority of trainers overlooked the inconclusive details in favor of the results. After all, even the device had its limits and a Pokémon almost always rejected some of the abilities available.

Mark had managed to build up a respectable collection of discs for use. He still had a few discs that contained Aerial Ace; a technique used by flying Pokémon. If Mark had Maple forget her use of Dig and replaced it with Aerial Ace, then she would have a potent weapon to use against Shinobi.

However, Mark was unsure if the device would work on human Pokémon at all. His intuition told him it would, but he had no reason to take that for granted. Maple might not be able to use it. And even if she could, most of Mark's usual strategies favored Dig over Aerial Ace and he didn't know if he had a spare Dig disc to re-teach her after the fight was over.

More than ever, he wanted to upgrade his collection of the discs. He knew that the manufacturer had started producing re-usable discs, but they were all very expensive and Mark didn't have the money for them.

"So, what are we doing after lunch?" Maple asked. They would have a few hours to themselves before going to PureBlueSky's match, "could we show Cherry around the island?"

"Oh…sure," Mark said noncommittally, "I guess we can do that."

Maple dropped back, away from Mark, before frowning to herself. She had hoped for a better response. She kept thinking back to the day before, when she and Mark had spent the afternoon alone together. She wanted to do it again and find out what it would be like to have Cherry along, but Mark's thoughts were clearly far away.

"What's wrong?" Cherry asked her, quickly noticing her sour expression.

"Oh, nothing," Maple smiled down at Cherry, who didn't believe it for a second.

More lies. Just great…

Of the two of them, Cherry had taken more of a liking to Maple. Mark had been kind enough to let her go with them, but he was an odd person. In many ways, he seemed weak and unsure of himself. Then other times he had the nerve to scold her when she had done nothing wrong.

Everyone around her was lying to her and treating her like a baby. She could handle the truth, why were they hiding it from her? She had been through worse than all of them.

"Am I going to have to fight Lily?" she asked. There was no fear or uncertainty in her voice, only determination. She would show them all just how strong she was.

Mark stopped and turned around.

"No," he shook his head, "I'm not making you fight them."

"What if I _want_ to fight them?" Cherry narrowed her gaze at her trainer. She hadn't fought even one battle since she had evolved. The need to do it was getting stronger. It was like an itch from the inside. If she was free, then she should have the freedom to fight, if she wanted.

Mark looked down into her bright, emerald eyes and noticed that her flaming tail had begun to burn more brightly. He remembered that look. He had seen it in Maple, even without the shadow of the Red State hiding behind it. It would be the same thing all over again.

Regardless of age, species, or nature, human Pokémon still had a craving for battle. He didn't understand it, but he stood by his decision with Maple. He didn't want to force a ten-year-old little girl into a fight, but if she was going to do it anyway, at least he could watch over her. He had learned his lesson the first time and he had no urge to repeat those mistakes.

Not only that, but Mark had been searching for an answer for what his relationship with Cherry should be. He still had no idea whether he was a father, older brother or something else entirely, but here was a chance to find out. He could still be her trainer and maybe he could learn what that meant. Humans and Pokémon had always grown closer through battling and training. It would be the same between Mark and Cherry. He could better understand who she was and maybe she would learn that she could trust him.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Do I look sure?" Cherry spat back, defiantly.

"Then you'll let me train you?" Mark ignored Cherry's response. He had rescued her, but that did not mean everything was perfect between them. There was still a wide gap in their understanding of each other. Mark was starting to recognize it better, but he would need to lessen it, if not take it away entirely. If he wanted to beat Lily, he needed Cherry. But most importantly, they needed to be a team.

"Isn't that what a trainer is for?" the Charmander-girl smirked.

"Yes it is," Mark smiled at her, feeling strangely eager to get started, "we'll go back to the Pokémon Center this afternoon, then you can get your physical and get registered for the tournament."

"Alright," Cherry nodded her agreement.

"We'll go see Aurum," Mark continued, "and start training tomorrow. There's a lot to do and it's going to be hard. Can you handle that?"

"Of course," Cherry nodded, "just let me fight."

"Good," Mark nodded before turning away, "then let's get going."

Cherry turned to Maple, and the two Pokémon girls grinned at each other. They were going to be sisters in battle.

Mark began to plan his battle strategy anew. There was a lot of training to do, but now he had a very important surprise ready to take against Lily.

An odd thought occurred to him, just then. Maybe he did understand why human Pokémon wanted to fight so much. After all, planning and strategizing for the fight was something that Mark enjoyed immensely. His true skill as a trainer lied in his ability to anticipate and prepare.

Once the battle started, it would be Maple and Cherry's turn. Until then, everything depended on the strategy Mark came up with. That was his role in the team.

He had only two human Pokémon now, but they were already starting to feel like a team.

* * *

><p>Lily hung her head as she walked, with Shinobi buzzing along behind her. After she had left Mark and the others, she began aimlessly walking around the island. Her mind was far from the upcoming battle against Mark. They were friends, not enemies. She would do her best and he would do his. Besides, she couldn't focus on a match even if she wanted to.<p>

She wasn't stupid. She had known Silver and Aroma liked each other. She had even known that Silver didn't like her in the way that she liked him. Aroma was pretty, calm, nice, another human Pokémon, and even a few years older than Lily. It wasn't surprising that Silver would like her better.

But if Lily knew all of that, why did it still hurt?

She stayed outside because there were people outside. If she went inside, she would be alone. If she was alone, then it might hurt enough to make her cry.

But Aroma wouldn't cry. She was strong and composed and a hurt like this one was nothing. That was the kind of girl that Silver liked. And if that was what Silver liked, then Lily would do her best to be like that.

But it was so hard…

"Is there anything I can do, mistress Lily?" Shinobi asked, trying to offer what little comfort he could manage. He was a warrior through and through. He knew nothing about comforting Lily. It was a shortcoming that he hated in himself. He had no choice but to watch her suffer.

"No, it's okay…" she shook her head. She began walking heel-to-toe in an effort to distract her mind.

What were Aroma and Silver doing? They said that they would find her, but that was hours ago. Where were they?

Shortly afterward, she passed in front of a flower shop. Sweet, pleasant fragrances wafted off of the stand. It reminded Lily of Aroma's ability Aromatherapy; the technique that Lily had nicknamed her after.

Aroma was her best friend, and the first of Lily's Pokémon to evolve into a human. But was she still her best friend if she had stolen Silver away? Could a best friend cause the kind of pain that Lily was feeling?

No, wait…Aroma hadn't "stolen" Silver away. It wasn't like that.

First Aroma had evolved, and then Silver followed. Why did he evolve? Lily had hoped it was for her, the way that Aroma had evolved for her, but that was wrong. He had done it for Aroma.

Why hadn't she seen that?

It was obvious, wasn't it? Everything Silver did was because of Aroma, not her. He wanted to run, but he had stayed because of her. When she went missing, Silver had been the one to band them together. And now that she was back…

Lily blinked a few times to keep the water out of them.

She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't cry.

Her hands were trembling.

"Mistress…" Shinobi was helpless. But he was becoming angry, as well. He needed to serve his trainer and banish what was hurting her. He knew the source, but violence would not comfort Lily.

"I…I'm fine, Shinobi," Lily swallowed, hard, "you don't have to worry about me."

"It is my duty to worry, mistress," Shinobi replied, "Shall I summon Silver and Aroma?"

"No…" Lily wanted to say yes with everything in her, but it would be selfish and childish of her to give in. She promised she was going to be stronger.

"What shall we do, then?"

"We're going to go train," Lily decided, "We want to be ready to fight Mark, don't we?"

"Yes, of course!" Shinobi nodded.

"Then that's what we'll do," Lily lifted her head as she started to walk forward again, "we'll train and we'll get stronger. Then nothing can hurt us."

As she walked away, the ache in her chest was starting to hurt less.

* * *

><p>AN: wow, that's a lot of Pokemon strategy…although that's probably close to the way I think when planning out a team to use…<p>

Oh, yeah, I figure that that's roughly how the TMs would work in real life. Almost like a Matrix-esque teaching mechanism. Hopefully not very painful…if at all…

So, thanks for reading!


	49. The Dark Shifter: Part 1

Chapter 48

Cherry was surrounded by enemies.

On all sides of her, there were humans and human Pokémon looking around, talking to each other…plotting. Hundreds of them, all around her, packing the stadium with assailants that could come after her from any direction. Their voices were like thunder, roiling through the crowd.

_How did I do this before?! _She thought in anger. All she could remember from the last match was the fight itself and waiting for the crowd to clear away after it was over. Entering was a blank. Her mind had gone numb in its defense and it wiped itself clean.

Now her fear had changed to anger. That was good. It meant that she was growing stronger. The fire of her rage filled her and gave her strength as she scanned for assassins. After all, she was a fire-type human Pokémon. The stronger the fire burned, the more power she possessed.

But her situation was growing worse. Heads were starting to turn towards her. They peered closely with baffled expressions. Some began to point and whisper to each other. What were they plotting next? There would be nowhere to run if they chose to attack…dammit!

She walked back-to-back with Maple, shuffling through the stadium towards their seats. The older Leafeon-girl was her only friend in the world and therefore the only one she trusted to watch her back, even if she thought it was silly that Cherry required it of her.

Mark, on the other hand, was several aisles ahead of them, frantically scouting for seats. She was growing angrier at him as he failed to achieve anything. It was his fault that they were in this horrendous predicament. Sure, she had agreed to come, but why did he not know that the stadium would fill to capacity half an hour before the match began? He had watched Aurum hadn't he? Was there not a similar crowd at _every_ match one of the Four competed in?

"OVER HERE!" a dark-haired girl stood on the bench at the very top of the stadium, "MARK! MAPLE! OVER HERE!" Looking more closely, Cherry recognized that Lily was, in fact, not a murderer. Still, she followed Mark with caution, mentally damning the people behind her that kept shouting at her to go faster.

Cherry felt comforted by the height of the position. She had a very commanding view of the rest of the stadium and the sight of the field made the world feel more open. Better still, she had chosen to sit right next to the aisle. If she needed to run, she would be the first out of her seat, down the stairs and out of the stadium.

Mark sat next to her, asking stupid questions about whether or not she was okay.

By Arceus, couldn't he tell?! She had just been through Hell for the second time in one day, who would be "okay" after that?!

Next to Lily, Shinobi crouched, rather than sat, on his seat. The human Absol and Meganium, Silver and Aroma, had returned, but they acted as though they were in a separate world, populated only by the two of them. As a result Lily was even more solemn than she had been previously, but the arrival of the three newcomers gave her some comfort.

"It's good to see you again!" Lily said enthusiastically to Maple. Even if they were both just a few feet away, she had to believe that she was alright. Maybe if she smiled a lot the pain wouldn't show.

"It's good to see you, too!" Maple hugged Lily in greeting and she noticed that the human girl hung on for a little bit longer than what Maple had expected. She didn't want to let go.

Maple looked at her sad eyes and thought about asking what was wrong. Then she remembered and her eyes widened with the realization of what Lily must be feeling as Silver and Aroma sat together, so close by.

She didn't know how badly something like that could hurt, but using her eyes, she asked Lily if there was anything she could do. The other girl shook her head very slightly and smiled. She was asking Maple to move on. Reluctantly, Maple pulled away.

"So, what have you three been up to?" Lily asked, with as much good cheer as she could manage, when Maple had sat down next to her. Maple was immensely eager to answer her questions.

Cherry began to grow bored as the time ticked away. The match would start in just another few minutes, but she was starting to see enemies in the crowd, again.

But then she realized what time of day it was and she leaned back to take in the color of the sky.

As the match was approaching, the sky had turned into the warm orange and red of sunset. It was the first time in over three months that Cherry had seen it. This was her favorite time of day. It would only last for a few minutes. A brief flare of color before the sun went out for the night.

Only a fire Pokémon could truly appreciate this time of day. And here she was, at the very best place that she could be to enjoy watching it. She felt like she could enjoy her freedom again.

Along with Mark and Maple, Cherry had spent the day preparing for her new life as Mark's second human Pokémon. They had started by visiting the Pokémon Center. There, Cherry had received her physical and was registered for the tournament.

While they were there, the Blissey-nurse confirmed the results of Maple's blood test. From that, they had determined that she was sixteen-years-old in human years, though she was barely two-and-a-half, in reality. Still, she was older than Cherry, who already knew her age to be just ten years.

Mark had asked if it was alright for her to compete despite her young age, but the nurse smiled and told him that any willing, human Pokémon as young as eight human years was allowed to compete in the tournament. He had been dumbfounded by the idea that while Maple was still very young, she could potentially fight someone that was only half her age. Cherry, however, liked the idea because it meant that Mark could no longer hold her back from a match because of her age. Blood or no blood, she was a Pokémon and she would fight.

After Cherry's physical, Maple ecstatically led the way as they shopped for clothes for Cherry. She had no idea why the Leafeon-girl had been so damned happy about it and her enthusiasm started to become annoying. She clung to Mark through most of it, despite the fact that they were only there to shop for clothes for Cherry. Mark, on the other hand, remained distant as he planned out the fight against Lily long before Cherry's training had begun. In the end, the outing was over quickly after Cherry dejectedly chose several outfits that were only slight variations on her current tan jumper.

This helped bolster Mark's personal theory that most human Pokémon did not really care about their clothing. Instead, they just relied on the instinct to wear something that made them look like what they were before evolving.

After the trip was finished, Cherry noticed that Maple had also become more distant than usual. She could pick up on the subtle changes in her mood easily, but she still had no idea what was causing it.

It might have something to do with Mark and how much attention he was giving her. Cherry had asked Mark if they were married last night, but Mark had stammered out a "no." Maybe Maple wanted to be married to Mark but he didn't really want to marry her.

But, really, it was all just confusing to Cherry. She didn't really have any idea how marriage worked, she just knew it was something that people did when they loved each other. She thought that Mark and Maple loved each other, but maybe she was wrong…

Anyway, being back at the stadium gave both of them something else to focus on. Mark was here to watch PureBlueSky, and maybe meet him afterwards. Maple was here just because she loved watching Pokémon fights, whether they were part human or not.

Cherry forgot about them both as she gazed up at that beautiful sky. It had been too long. She decided to make a promise to herself to watch it every day that she could. Another day over. Her first day of freedom.

* * *

><p>Alex paced the locker room in the stadium. He held his arms to keep from shaking, but his right index finger still nervously tapped his left arm. After a while, it started to hurt, but no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't stop doing that.<p>

"You're running out of time," Whisper had told him the night before, "I told you to find me an opponent. Where are they?"

"You'll get your opponent," Alex had told him, "tomorrow night."

"Will I, now?" Whisper asked from the shadows of the hotel room, "You've said lies like that before. How do I know you're not lying again?" Whisper was playing games with him, threatening him.

"It's PureBlueSky," Alex told him, "the former champion. The strongest opponent that you could possibly ask for."

"You didn't answer my question," Whisper sneered. He paused for a few seconds, soaking in Alex's fear. He sighed before continuing in a mocking tone, "What happened to us, Alex? We used to be such good friends…"

"You turned into a monster," Alex told him, coldly.

Whisper broke into laughter.

"A monster, you say?!" he cackled, "You mean this ridiculous halfway point between Pokémon and human? Well, if you didn't notice, I'm not the only monster that you have."

"I didn't mean that," Alex stood his ground, "the others evolved to protect me from you. _They_ are not monsters. But you are."

"Protect _you_ from _me_?" Whisper laughed even harder at this suggestion, "and what good are they going to be in stopping me? Like those three can even touch me. Not even Dozer stands a chance!"

Alex looked away from Whisper's shadowy form in the corner of their room. He was right. Whisper had been his first human Pokémon to evolve, seeking greater power and then getting drunk off of it. In just a few weeks, Whisper was beyond Alex's ability to control. The things he had seen him do…

But then Cascade, Coraline and Dozer, his Seaking, Banette and Snorlax all evolved. Their power doubled, even tripled but it still wasn't enough to stop Whisper. Even the sturdy Dozer couldn't hope to stand against him. He grew too fast, became too powerful. In the end, his other human Pokémon fell behind and could no longer control Whisper either. So Alex had no choice but to seek out opponents to satisfy Whisper's bloodlust.

Alex found himself looking for other trainers on a constant basis just to keep Whisper satisfied. One here, two there, Whisper defeated every opponent with ease and only wanted more. Each victory brought him closer to losing himself completely to his bloodlust.

Alex had sworn to himself to keep Whisper out of battle, but his time was up. The tournament was the only option Alex had left. The strongest trainers in the world gathered together in one place. Now he had his chance to get Whisper off of his back.

But…would that work?

Win or lose, one match wouldn't satisfy Whisper. If he won, there would be other fights and stronger opponents to face. If he lost, well…Alex had no idea what would happen if he lost. Maybe it would humble him, discipline him and teach him that he needed Alex if he really wanted to be as strong as he wanted. It was a childish, romantic ideal, but Alex had to hope. Alex had no way to rid himself of Whisper. If Alex couldn't satisfy him, there was nothing stopping him from leaving. And next time it would be permanent.

And if that happened, people were going to die.

Alex shuddered.

_Just a few more minutes, just a few more minutes_, he thought over and over again.

But when those minutes were up, he still wasn't ready.

* * *

><p>The waiting was always the worst part of it.<p>

You had to come an hour early for a Pokémon match that likely wouldn't last longer than thirty minutes. And the crowds, they started coming even earlier. It was madness.

Just three matches in a day? Ludicrous.

Even forgetting that there was only one stadium that had to be repaired in between matches, it was still ridiculous. The Evolution Cup, as Silph had so called it, was a tourist trap, with PureBlueSky and the rest of the Four as the main attraction. Even Sky had no idea what possessed the man to create something so over-the-top.

Nope, Sky was just a tool. Not that it mattered; he would happily take Silph's money as long as he left him and his human Pokémon alone whenever the tournament wasn't being held. The Four were damned close to being nothing more than petty employees fighting over a yearly bonus. A victory by one of them was virtually guaranteed.

But, honestly, PureBlueSky didn't care about the politics behind the tournament. He hadn't agreed to come with Ian? No, Evan. Alan? Dammit, he couldn't remember…

Anyway, he had agreed to come with the boy because of his own human Pokémon. It was a chance to have a real fight again, rather than just training. They could spar with each other all they liked, but what they really needed was something new, something different. And okay, maybe the competitors at this tournament were a little…behind the Four, but they were getting stronger every year. Human Pokémon were evolving all around the world, and very quickly at that. Soon, Sky wasn't going to be as alone as he felt, right then.

That was an understatement. Sky didn't feel lonely right then, he felt lonely _all the time_. He was always on the outside, never quite finding his own niche to fill. He decided that that was why he missed the Four so much. The Four as a whole, and especially RiverofTears. She made him feel like he belonged somewhere; with her. Now…even his home in Sinnoh didn't welcome him the way that it used to and his own human Pokémon were abandoning him, one by one.

So, here he was. Trying to start again. He was trying as hard as he could, but he still saw River everywhere he looked.

_Move on_, he often thought, trying to command himself, _drop it, dammit. You have to forget what happened and move on!_

Of course, it didn't work. He didn't know why, but it didn't.

"Sir," the stadium attendant came back to get him, "we're ready to begin."

PureBlueSky stood up. He didn't want to go back out there. But what other choice did he have?

* * *

><p>"Is that?"<p>

"Must be…"

"He looks…different."

"Not what I pictured. Not by a long shot…"

"No, that's him. I recognize him from before."

Excited murmurs filled the stadium as a young man walked out from the left hand side locker room. He walked a few steps, his eyes darting over the crowd, scanning each face, looking for something that wasn't there. Every single person was staring at him.

PureBlueSky didn't know what to do, so he waved.

The stadium exploded into cheering.

* * *

><p>From high up in the stadium, Mark peered down at the returning champion. At first, he wondered if he was too far away to be seeing him properly, but there was no mistaking it. Even the crowd around him wasn't fully sure, but once the cheering started, he knew. That was him alright.<p>

PureBlueSky did not look like a champion. His frame was angular and bent. He hunched forward while he walked, with his hands jammed into his pockets. His skin was pale and he was far too thin. His hair was a tangle of dull brown that he had to brush to the side to keep his bangs out of his eyes. He dressed mostly in black, which made his stick frame look even thinner.

Altogether, he looked like…well; there was no other way to put it. He looked like a nerd.

"That's him," Mark said to himself, "that's PureBlueSky." He said it without emotion, as he still tried to put together how he felt. Was he disappointed, proud, relieved, amused, or maybe sympathetic? He couldn't tell.

What had he expected PureBlueSky to look like? Some sort of epic fantasy character with a sword slung over his back and a cape blowing in the wind? PureBlueSky wasn't that…far from it.

PureBlueSky wasn't a superhero. He was just a person, like any other.

But that didn't stop the crowd from cheering.

They knew who he was, even if he had changed in the last three years.

This was their champion. This was the man that they had come to see. They didn't care what he looked like, they just wanted to see him battle.

On the opposite end of the stadium, Alex's appearance was nearly forgotten amidst the appearance of PureBlueSky. The crowd was focused solely on the champion. It made Alex feel a little disappointed, but at the same time, at least no one would notice him shaking.

In the third row, he noticed Cara sitting with her own human Pokémon and looking directly at him, cheering away. She must have arrived at least an hour, probably longer, before the match was scheduled to begin. Alex was glad that she did.

He made his way to the center of the field to greet his opponent. But as Alex arrived, he stopped worrying for a brief moment as he looked at the young man coming out to meet him.

"PureBlueSky?" he asked.

"That's me," he answered in a distracted voice, he kept glancing back at the crowd, as if he was looking for someone but couldn't find them. He stopped, momentarily, to look at Alex and read the expression on his face, "thought I'd be taller?"

"Something like that…" Alex replied. The two would have been equal height if PureBlueSky stood up straight, but currently he was an inch shorter.

"Happens all the time," he dismissed Alex's concern.

"Look, I…"

"Oh, right," PureBlueSky shuffled around and removed his right hand from his pocket, "we're supposed to shake hands, right?"

Alex extended his own hand and shook the champion's. There was very little strength behind it. How weird…

"So…" PureBlueSky acted as though he didn't remember what came next, "you ready?"

"Yeah…" Alex nodded, "yeah, let's go."

PureBlueSky extended an unnecessarily long and skinny leg and turned back to his side of the stadium. But before he walked too far, Alex called out to him.

"Hey, uhh…PureBlueSky!"

"Hmm?" he pivoted at the waist and bent back to look at Alex.

"Before we start," Alex took a breath, "I just want you to know that…I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

But Alex didn't answer. Instead, he turned around and began walking to the raised platform on his own side of the stadium.

"Whatever," PureBlueSky shrugged and started walking again.

* * *

><p>AN: so, yeah, that line I wrote about Lily faking a smile to hide her pain…yeah, I had to stop writing for a few hours after that one. That one hurt me, too. The poor girl…her man and her best friend are dating each other right in front of her face…it's gonna be a bumpy ride for her…I need to find her a man of her own, now. (Shinobi doesn't count, btw. He's awesome, but I'm afraid that putting him in a dating situation might take away what makes him awesome.)<p>

Anyways, hope you liked the chapter! I will see you again next weekend sometime!

Thanks for reading!


	50. The Dark Shifter: Part 2

Chapter 49

"Isn't that Alex?!" Maple shook Mark when she recognized the other young man that had come out to meet PureBlueSky on the battlefield.

"Uh…" Mark had to squint to be sure, "yeah, I think it is."

"ALEX!" Maple shouted, "UP HERE!" But her calls were lost through the rumble of the crowd and she failed to get his attention.

The last time the two had seen him had been the morning of the second day of the tournament. After Maple had defeated Cascade and Coraline, Alex had melted back into the crowd of the island. Through their battle, they had become friends, but they hadn't seen him since that fight.

Mark suddenly felt the sinking sensation that he was about to watch another one of his friends lose. He suspected that Alex had more human Pokémon than just Cascade and Coraline, but he hadn't seen them. Still, Maple had defeated both of them with little more than a few slashes of her Leaf Blade boosted by her newly acquired Red State. If that was Alex's best, then the returning champion wasn't just going to defeat him; he was going to decimate him.

But something else was going on.

Alex would've had the chance to forfeit already, but he was going through with it, anyway. What was he thinking? What did he want?

Mark looked down at the field and considered it. In moments, he was going to find out what this was really about.

* * *

><p>As PureBlueSky climbed the ladder up onto his platform, he pondered what Alex had said.<p>

_I'm sorry_, what did he mean? There had been something very unsettling about it. It was as if Alex pitied him. Pity coming from someone that wasn't a member of the Four? That was new.

But he chose not to worry about it. Instead, he couldn't help but glance over at the crowd. It was hopeless to look through the sea of faces, but he still searched for a streak of blue down the center of that shining auburn hair. The sunset over his head was eerily close to the right color. Maybe if RiverofTears wasn't in the crowd, she was still with him in other ways…

_Focus_, PureBlueSky told himself, _focus, you idiot_. His opponent was waiting for him. Alex stood on the opposite platform. His head was lowered, as if he was ashamed to be there.

"Are you ready?" Sky asked him through the speaker by his side.

"No," his voice shook, "but let's get started."

"Look," Sky sighed, "if something's bothering you, I might be able to talk Silph into rearranging the fight. I mean, he's kind of an asshole, but-"

"No, no, it's okay," Alex cut him off, "sooner is better than later." Sky heard him take a deep breath and exhale, "okay, let's do this."

Sky raised an eyebrow at the speaker, but after a second he started counting down, "alright, then. Three…two…one…"

"GO!"

* * *

><p>Ian was overjoyed to see that PureBlueSky's first human Pokémon was his beloved Flurry. The Glaceon-girl appeared in a bright flash of white with little sparkles floating off of her as she shook her ears and tail and prepared for battle. Ian had never seen her fight, but he knew that she was powerful. On their journey north to Snowpoint City, Ian had met every one of PureBlueSky's human Pokémon, but Flurry remained his snowy angel. And despite the eight year difference in their ages he swore he would marry her one day.<p>

The small boy whooped and screamed from the fence at the very bottom of the stadium steps. He was only ten feet off of the ground and a measly twenty yards from his beloved Flurry. A few security guards had asked him to move, but Ian simply flashed the silver card that Sky had given him and they quickly apologized and left him alone. Whatever the card was, it gave him the right to do whatever he wanted.

_Just be careful_, Sky had told him, _and don't do anything stupid_. It had been the most Sky had said to him since they had arrived on the island. Sky was strange and quiet, but Ian could tell that he was a nice person underneath all of that.

Now he had a front-row seat to Flurry's first battle in months.

He cheered and screamed until his throat was dry and sore, and then kept right on doing it. But he never expected what was coming.

* * *

><p>Alex's first Pokémon was a human Seaking. She smiled broadly at Flurry from across the field and waved excitedly.<p>

Flurry nodded back before moving into a half-crouch fighting stance. She smiled to herself, partly because of Ian's enthusiastic screams, but mostly because of how good it felt to be back on the battlefield. Even if she wasn't fighting Edge or River or Aurum, any sort of battling would be wonderful. It had been too long…

"BEGIN!" The voice of the stadium announcer blasted. And with that, the two competitors were off.

"Simple enough," Sky said calmly, "Shadow Ball." A Seaking. It wasn't much of a challenge, but PureBlueSky didn't expect one. Flurry could handle that even if it was as strong as her. Seaking wasn't exactly an all-star Pokémon.

Flurry cupped her hands just a few inches apart from each other. Dark energy flowed down her arms and began to form into a rounded shadow in her hands. Her signature ice-type attacks wouldn't be effective against the water-type Seaking. That left her alternative as the ghost-type Shadow Ball.

Across the field, the human Seaking-girl seemed to fade as she dashed forward, across the field. Alex gave her no orders, but the girl moved like a blur. Long before Flurry was finished charging her attack, the Seaking was right in front of her.

The girl punched her, hard, in her right cheek. The attack had enough force to make Flurry's neck snap to the side and she winced against the pain, but she stayed on her feet.

"Wait," PureBlueSky didn't understand, "Suckerpunch? From a Seaking?" Too late, he realized what they were fighting.

At point-blank range, Flurry fired her Shadow Ball directly into the Seaking-girl's chest. Initially, she recoiled with pain, but it quickly changed to a devilish smile. The laughing from her lips was deep, menacing and masculine.

Flurry's eyes widened as she too realized what she was fighting. The image of the Seaking-girl seemed to slip out of focus, then blurred entirely. Through Flurry's eyes, it was as if she were looking at a poorly taken photograph. But then the image came back together and she was no longer looking at a human Seaking.

"Sorry to disappoint you," a sinister voice mocked her.

Sneering down at her was a tall man dressed in black. A shock of long, crimson hair reached down to the middle of his back. His clothes were solid black, including steel-tipped boots and a fur-lined jacket. The hungry look in his eyes haunted Flurry for years afterward.

"A Zoroark…" PureBlueSky identified Alex's Whisper like it was a curse. It was a shape-shifting Pokémon that could look like anything. Only when hurt would its true form appear. The Shadow Ball Flurry had used had done little damage against the pure dark-type Zoroark. It wasn't a complicated trick, but properly used, it could be devastating. But it didn't matter. This just required a change in tactics. He had surprised them once, but it wouldn't work a second time.

Whisper dropped back, putting a comfortable distance between himself and his new toy. Now that he was closer, he could get a good look at her. She was a lovely thing to look at. It would be even more fun when he heard her scream.

"Sky, did you see that?" Flurry asked her trainer, "In his eyes, did you see it?" All of a sudden, she was wildly afraid. Flurry herself had never been capable of using the Red State. She didn't know why. Perhaps she just didn't possess the killer instinct required for it. But she knew how to recognize it. And it terrified her.

"I saw," PureBlueSky assured her, "stay calm."

A Zoroark. An opponent that had discovered the Red State. In just a few moments, this battle had turned from a dull footnote into an actual challenge. PureBlueSky couldn't help but smile to himself. He was facing a real opponent, the very reason he had returned to Himitsu Island.

He forgot about RiverofTears.

"Blizzard," he commanded.

But Whisper was faster. Leaping into the air, he fired an arc of dark energy that was darker than any night. Flurry tried to duck underneath it, but the blow caught her directly in the middle of her forehead.

She closed her eyes and scrunched up her face as the attack seemed to vibrate through her very being. When she opened her eyes again, her vision was blurred and she could barely make out her opponent.

Pleased with the fact that his Night Daze had blurred her vision, Flurry's opponent bounced on his heels, ready for anything she might throw at him.

Concentrating as hard as she could, Flurry sent out a shock wave of ice and snow at Whisper. The Blizzard attack created a column of howling wind and hail that was thirty feet in diameter. It screamed through the air, threatening anything in its way.

But her attack was far off target. Whisper only needed to dip out of the way of half of the compacted snowstorm. It howled past him, harmlessly wide.

Whisper grinned at her. Alex hadn't lied to him, after all. He was fighting someone strong. That attack would have finished him had the girl been able to see straight. This guy had five more like her? At long last, Whisper was in the big leagues.

But it was time to end this. He had played with his opponent for long enough. She was good, dangerous even, but Whisper was better. In fact, he had a special surprise just for moments like this. He got to use it only rarely, but he always loved the effect it had on his enemies. It was time to make her scream.

Flurry stepped back, exhausted and clutching her throbbing head as Blizzard ended. The Zoroark's image was still blurry and she couldn't focus. Blizzard was useless if she couldn't see straight, she needed to get a hold of herself.

She blinked rapidly a few times, trying to clear her head, but the human Zoroark was already right in front of her. And there were flames coming out of the side of his mouth.

Whisper grinned maniacally at the Glaceon-girl's screams as he bathed her in his Flamethrower. The flames scorched her from head-to-toe, covering her in the devastating fire attack. Flurry closed her eyes and collapsed to the ground, struggling to shut out the pain. She couldn't stop herself from screaming.

When it was over, Flurry huddled on the ground in a fetal position, whimpering in agony. Most of her clothing had been reduced to ashes and her skin was burned across most of her body. She whimpered a few more times, and then mercifully passed out from the pain.

"Just one more, sweetheart," Whisper growled, stepping forward to stand directly over her. He drew in breath for another Flamethrower. This one would ensure that she never got back up.

"ENOUGH!" PureBlueSky screamed. Whisper paused to glare up at him. If Sky hadn't cried out when he did, Flurry would not have survived the match. With a slow-burning rage now growing within him, Sky recalled Flurry. Her unconscious, but still living, form faded from the field and returned to the safety of her Pokéball.

* * *

><p>Ian stared at the spot where Flurry had fallen in complete horror.<p>

His lovely Flurry; devastated and tortured right before his very eyes. There was nothing he could do but watch helplessly. What was that Zoroark? How could it be so cruel? Why did it have to be Flurry?!

He panted as he stared and didn't realize that he had been holding onto the fence too hard. Blood was running down his fingers, but he felt no pain.

"FLURRY! FLURRY!" the small boy screamed.

* * *

><p>PureBlueSky stared at Flurry's Pokéball, in his hand. Flurry; whom he had raised from an Eevee with careful, thoughtful consideration for every aspect of battle that he would count on her for. She was one of his favorites and one of the last to remain loyal to him through his prolonged depression. She had joked that he wouldn't even be able to talk to River. So far, she had been right, but Sky knew her well enough to know that she wanted better for him. She didn't deserve what that thing did to her.<p>

Ian's scream echoed Sky's anguish. He had chosen Flurry in expectance of an easy fight. He wanted to let Ian watch Flurry dominate the fight the way that Katana and Aurum had. Ian told him all about it and it was thus far his favorite moment of the tournament. But his plan had backfired and now Flurry was charred and suffering inside of her Pokéball.

Sky looked across the field at his opponent. Alex was still silent and hanging his head in shame.

"What the hell was that?" he snarled at the speaker through gritted teeth, "why didn't you stop him?! He could've killed her!"

Nothing but silence came through from the other end of the stadium.

"ANSWER ME!"

"That won't do any good," the human Zoroark on the field told Sky, "you're not fighting him, you're fighting me."

Sky ignored him and continued to glare across the field at Alex.

I'm sorry, he had said. This was what he meant. He hadn't issued a single command and the Zoroark had dominated Flurry and tortured her. It delighted in her pain and it had tried to kill her. This thing wasn't a human Pokémon, it was an outright monster.

This thing wielded the Red State. It was active and harnessed by something so consumed with bloodlust that it wanted to fight Flurry to the death. How many had fallen like that? How long had Alex been carting around something so dangerous?

"You," Sky ignored Alex and glared directly at the Zoroark, "what are you?"

"Name's Whisper," he grinned back at the champion, "so you have five more like her?"

"Stronger than her," Sky told him.

"Good," Whisper grinned, "I didn't come here to fight weaklings."

"Then you'll get no mercy from me, Whisper," Sky assured him.

Sky was so angry he was shaking. That hadn't happened to him in years. The last time it had he was fighting Edge, and not in a Pokémon battle. If this thing had the capacity to try to murder Flurry, then Sky could not hold back. He refused to show mercy to something so vicious.

Sky commanded monsters, but compared to Whisper, they were just plain humans.

He withdrew the black and yellow striped Ultra Ball that contained his strongest human Pokémon. She was the only one of his Pokémon that grew up in the wild. She had been with him a long time, but she still remembered the harsh world that had shaped her into what she was now.

There would be no forgiveness when her crimson wings were spread out over the battlefield.

"TEMPEST!"

* * *

><p>AN: So, I finally revealed Whisper. It was not always easy keeping him hidden. Especially since I decided I wanted to have him be the first Pokémon from BlackWhite. Now that he's appeared, you can expect to see more of them. the main reason I haven't used one before now is because when I was first working on the concept for the story, Black/White were not out yet and it took me a bit to get used to the new generation.

Also, in case you weren't aware, Night Daze has a 40% chance to drop accuracy. So, that's what Flurry's blurred vision was all about.

Thanks for reading!


	51. The Dark Shifter: Part 3

Chapter 50

An eerie silence fell over the Himitsu Island stadium when PureBlueSky's human Glaceon-girl had fallen in battle. The human Zoroark she had faced was formidable enough to stand amongst the tournament's strongest competitors. And it hadn't just beaten her. It had dominated her.

"S-s-she's okay, right?" High up in the stands, Maple shook Mark's arm in horrified alarm. A fellow Eevee evolution had just fallen right before her eyes, engulfed in flames and screaming in agony.

"Yeah, she'll be fine," Mark assured her, despite the tremble in his own voice, "she's just hurt. Once they get to the Pokémon Center, she'll be fine." It was true, but at the same time, Mark was still recovering from the sight of it. Flurry's defeat had been the most brutal act he had ever witnessed. The way she screamed…it was horrible.

She would live, but what other damage had been done to her?

Then, another terrible thought occurred to him. When he had faced Alex before, he noticed that Alex hadn't been fighting at his full strength. Now Mark knew what he had been holding back. As a matter of fact, Alex had shown them a great deal of mercy in his decision not to use his Zoroark. If Maple had fought him, he wouldn't have just beaten her. He would've killed her.

"Why do you keep lying?" Cherry sighed from Mark's opposite side. The ten-year-old Charmander-girl was the least upset out of the three of them.

Mark turned to stare at her in disbelief.

"What?" she blinked back at him.

"Umm…" Mark had to choose his words carefully, "you haven't fought a battle since evolving, right?"

"Right…" Cherry nodded, unsure of where he was going.

"But you still know what happens…right?" Mark was finding it very difficult to grasp how a girl as young as Cherry wasn't even a little upset over Flurry's suffering.

"Yeah…" Cherry raised an eyebrow, "is that all?"

"Uhh…yeah…" Mark nodded. He knew that Cherry had seen a lot in the Team Deus prison, but he was still learning just how much. The little Charmander-girl was still a mystery to him and she would probably remain that way for a long time.

But then, Mark had to turn as Maple drew in a sharp breath.

"It's her…" Maple marveled and a smile began to spread across her face, once more.

"'Her' who?" Mark asked, but Maple didn't respond. Peering down at the field, Mark could see that a human Salamence had emerged on PureBlueSky's side of the field. As he watched, her dark red wings spread out to their massive fifteen-foot wingspan.

Mark knew immediately that he was about to see why PureBlueSky was the returning champion of this year's tournament.

* * *

><p>Whisper bounced on his heels as he waited for PureBlueSky to make a move. After their quick conversation, the champion had fallen silent. Whisper wondered with delight what his next move would be. The Glaceon-girl had been a lot of fun and he had taken his time with her to be sure to enjoy it. Whisper had even managed to make the trainer angry. But now that this PureBlueSky character knew that he was a Zoroark, the battle was going to get much harder. He licked his lips and waited.<p>

A moment later, a young Salamence-woman appeared before him out of the flash of her Pokéball. She crouched on the ground, with her head down and her wings folded against her shoulders. Her short hair, the same crimson red as her wings, hung down around her face. But then she raised her head and looked directly at him.

Their eyes met for only a brief moment, but Whisper recognized something; something that he had only seen in the mirror.

Tempest stood up and, in a quick motion, spread her wings out to their full length. She let out a battle cry that was a terrifying mix of a woman's shriek and a dragon's roar. Whisper took an involuntary step back.

The dragon-lady flapped her wings a few times to get airborne. She hovered just a foot off of the ground as she waited for her orders.

"Tempest," PureBlueSky spoke from behind her, "don't take this one lightly. He beat Flurry…and it wasn't pretty." Tempest's gaze shifted to the corner of her eye, but she continued to face ahead of her.

There was something odd about the tone of Sky's voice. He sounded upset over the loss of Flurry, but anger overrode any fear that might have been there. She was looking at a Zoroark, a pure dark-type. Sky had other human Pokémon that were better suited to fighting an enemy like that. But this wasn't about just winning. He wanted vengeance for Flurry and he knew Tempest would give it to him.

Her eyes shifted back to the opponent before her. A faint smile touched the corner of her lips. She liked this version of Sky a lot better than the one that was still lovesick over RiverofTears.

"I warned you, Whisper," Sky told the human Zoroark, "I'm not going to show you any mercy."

"Well," Whisper taunted, "come at me, then!"

"Outrage," Sky said with absolute finality.

Tempest shot forward like a bullet, aiming directly for the face of her adversary. She could almost feel her blood boiling within her veins as the power flood of Outrage claimed her body.

Whisper's eyes shot wide as she closed in on him. Her hands transformed into deadly talons, far sharper than any true Salamence, reaching for him.

Tempest tore into the form of Whisper, ripping and clawing in her absolute fury. But Sky knew very quickly that the fight wasn't over. Whisper's image tore like paper before disintegrating and not a single drop of blood was spilled onto the field.

Just a few yards away, the true Whisper appeared, still very much whole.

Whisper had to fall back and regroup. It had been too close that time. If he hadn't created that Substitute at the last second he wouldn't be able to continue the fight. Whisper was fast, but the Salamence-woman was right on his heels and she was relentless.

"Son of a bitch…" Sky cursed under his breath. Substitute…of course. Whisper had taken the mere moments that he had to create a replacement for himself. It looked the same, but it was little more than an empty shell. Sky should have expected as much from a Zoroark.

Still, even though Substitutes were generally frail, they took a toll on the user. It required the Pokémon to give up a portion of their own energy to create it and only a small number of them could be made, even if the user had no injuries. As it stood, Whisper probably had enough energy for two more Substitutes before he ran out of strength. Two more and Tempest would tear him apart.

But it was more complicated than that. The extreme power granted by Outrage wasn't without its drawbacks, either. It drove Tempest into a rampage and Sky couldn't stop her or instruct her to do anything different until it ended. And when it did, the fatigue would catch up with her and make it difficult for her to think clearly. For Whisper, it would be a gamble, but if Tempest hurt herself before recovering, it wouldn't be impossible for Whisper to beat her.

Sky had no choice but to watch and wait.

The second of Whisper's Substitutes crumbled into dust as he struggled to stay one step ahead of Tempest. She came at him with unmatched power. It was all he could do just to stay in the fight.

The battle turned completely around. Whisper had been in control and dominated Flurry, but he was struggling just to stay on his feet against Tempest. He darted around the battlefield, trying desperately to stay ahead of her, maybe even get enough room to fire off a Night Daze. But the dragon-lady was possessed by the power of Outrage and he couldn't hope to outrun her.

As the Salamence-woman chased him down, threatening to squash him, Whisper still felt no fear, only anger. He didn't know how it was possible, but this woman was stronger than him. It wasn't by much, but he could see the gap and it infuriated him. What was the difference between himself and this bitch? The Glaceon-girl had burned and cried so easily, but the Salamence was untouchable.

For the third time, she got too close and Whisper desperately used his last Substitute. He could feel it draining away his strength, down to where he could barely stand. No enemy had pushed him this far since he had become part human. He needed time, he needed a break, but those wings were always right behind him.

Then, at last, Whisper got his break.

Just as Tempest was ripping his final Substitute to shreds, the frenzy of Outrage ended. He could see a change in her eyes. She pulled up and steadied herself into a hover as she clutched her head, as if a migraine were lancing through her brain.

"Oh…shit…" Tempest groaned, clutching her head. She loved the power of Outrage, but the recoil was a bitch. She had even found that the power could be addicting. It was no small wonder that normal Salamence did not learn the attack naturally. Even with her stronger human mind she could barely contain it.

This could be Whisper's only chance. He gathered his strength and prepared a Night Daze.

"Tempest, listen to me," from behind her, Sky's voice was a soothing calm amidst the haze left by Outrage, "you have to get a hold of yourself, he's almost finished."

"Yeah, I know, thanks," Tempest groaned, waving him off.

"MOVE!"

Too late, the dark wave of Whisper's Night Daze washed over Tempest from her chest up to her head, the shock adding to her headache.

Enraged by the pain, Tempest attacked again, without waiting for Sky. She dove down at the exhausted Whisper, ready to end the fight once and for all. But she couldn't see clearly and she was slower than before. She wasn't even sure if she was aiming at Whisper at all.

That made it easy for Whisper to roll to the side at the last second. He snickered with amusement as the dragon-lady missed and crashed into the ground. Dirt and dust scattered into the air at the impact. Tempest had only succeeded in hurting herself.

Sky cursed his own stupidity as he watched Tempest. Why had he called her out for this? He knew better than that. Tempest was his strongest, there was no question about that, but against a Zoroark, he had better options. Quickstep, for instance, was an ideal choice.

So why had he chosen Tempest? Yet, somehow, he couldn't answer his own question.

Thankfully, Tempest wasn't down for long. Still groggy, she rose to her feet, whipping her tail around as she turned to face Whisper. She could taste blood in her mouth and she still couldn't see straight. Whisper was there, but sometimes there were two of him, spinning around and overlapping with each other.

Breathing heavily, Whisper gathered the energy for another Night Daze. He had his opening, but he knew it wouldn't last. He wouldn't be able to make another Substitute and if Tempest caught him, it would be the end. He fired another wave of Night Daze at his weakened opponent.

Tempest saw the Night Daze coming, but she somehow couldn't find the strength to dodge. She gritted her teeth against the pain as the wave of darkness passed over her once again, damaging her mind more than her body. When it was over, she could feel something warm and sticky leaking from her left ear.

But this was not the first time Tempest had felt that sensation. She had defeated hundreds of opponents and a little blood in her ears was nothing new. Rather, she smiled as her head finally felt clearer.

There were still two Whispers in front of her, but at least they had stopped spinning around each other. She knew that she would have one chance to end this. If she missed, Whisper could finish her. Someone else in Sky's team could finish him easily enough, but Sky had chosen her. He had picked her based on emotion, rather than logic, which was a very rare act for Sky. Now that he had, she needed to prove him right.

Putting the full force of her powerful wings behind her, Tempest shot forward at Whisper, gliding just an inch above the ground. The surge from Outrage filled her with its intoxicating power once again. Whisper had no time to dodge and this time the dragon-lady found her mark.

Tempest collided with Whisper's chest, lifting him off of the ground. Blood flew everywhere as she ripped deep gashes into him. Then, when she was satisfied, she brought her legs up and kicked off of him, somersaulting backwards through the air while Whisper was launched forward, skidding along the ground.

It had been a long time since Whisper had tasted blood in his mouth and could feel it soaking into his clothes. Bleary-eyed, he sat up and struggled to gather his will.

"Don't tell me…" Sky muttered to himself. As powerful as Tempest's Outrage was it would not force a human Pokémon beyond their usual limits. Any and all attacks hit that mysterious barrier and stopped, always sparing the life of the enemy. But the boundary could be overridden. Whisper had tried to kill Flurry by attacking her when she was down and if Whisper chose to keep fighting, he would put his own life at risk.

Sky looked at Tempest as she circled over top of Whisper's head. She had just started a new Outrage. If Whisper got up and fought…could Sky stop her from killing him?

Whisper fought to stand. He could do it. He could beat her. One more Night Daze was all he needed. Just…

Tempest howled and pulled up, preparing to dive in for the kill.

"TEMPEST!" Sky screamed, "DON'T DO IT!"

Tempest hesitated. Through the reddening haze of Outrage powered by her own released Red State, she could scarcely even hear Sky's voice. Right below her was an enemy that wanted to die. Sky had spoken of no mercy, but he wanted to show it now? Why should she care? Everything was blood and battle and the sweet release it left in her. What did Sky matter?

"Tempest," Sky was calmer, this time. She needed peace and he knew that. It was stupid to think otherwise. "Tempest, let him go."

Whisper legs threatened to give way as his blood soaked the field, but the fight was still not officially over. There was a beautiful glimmer of hope, in all this. They wouldn't fight back. Their mercy would give him the opening her needed to win. He pulled back his arm, charging another Night Daze.

Tempest dove downward and for a brief moment Sky was terrified that his words hadn't reached her. She was going to kill and he couldn't stop her.

But, instead, she grabbed Whisper's forehead in the palm of her hand and slammed him into the ground. The blow knocked him unconscious and he didn't get back up.

Whisper was defeated.

* * *

><p>The murderous human Zoroark faded from the field as the petrified Alex called him inside of his Pokéball.<p>

Alex had watched the entire fight in helpless shame. All of PureBlueSky's suffering was his fault. His fault for not being strong enough to control Whisper. If only he had raised him better or been more commanding, then none of this would have had to happen.

Alex raised his hand and all eyes in the stadium moved to look at him. There was nothing left for him to do. He had accomplished everything he wanted from this match and there was no point in continuing.

"I forfeit," he announced, "I no longer wish to continue."

Stunned gasps issued from the crowd, but Alex's decision was final. The stadium announcer declared PureBlueSky to be the winner and the match was ended.

But PureBlueSky wasn't finished with Alex. He breathed a sigh of relief and solemnly began to lower his platform.

With her head once more aching from Outrage, Tempest flew over to him and landed on the ground, waiting for him to descend.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "if you didn't…then I could've…"

"It's okay, Tempest," he sighed, putting his hands back into his pockets and starting towards the other end of the stadium, "just try to remember what the difference is between us and them."

Tempest nodded and stayed close behind him. She remained quiet, holding her aching head and waiting for it to clear again. As long as she didn't have to fight anything, she would be fine. In the meantime, she was glad to have her Sky back. She had missed him so much…

As the returning champion walked towards Alex, a frantic Ian appeared by his side, clutching to him and pleading with him that Flurry had to be alright.

"She's hurt, but she'll be okay," Sky told Flurry's small admirer, "here, take-"

Before he could finish, Ian had snatched Flurry's Pokéball away from him. He took off, running towards the Pokémon Center as fast as his growth-spurting legs could carry him.

Sky watched him go for a brief moment. He would have to apologize to the boy later. First, there was the crazed Zoroark to deal with.

PureBlueSky stood in front of the shamed Alex, eyeing him and trying to decide if he felt sympathetic at all. Thankfully, there was a little bit. He'd have to focus on that.

"I'm sorry," Alex whispered.

"Yeah, you said that already," Sky dismissed it, "but that's not important. What's important is what we do with that thing you're carrying around."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, lifting his head.

"I don't know yet…" Sky admitted, "But he's far too dangerous and we have to do something. You were lucky this time. If he had killed Flurry, I wouldn't have let him live."

"What…?" Alex was stunned by Sky's bluntness. What would he do if Whisper died? No matter what Whisper had become, would they really have to kill him? He could still be saved, couldn't he?

"What can we do?" Alex asked in desperation, but it was a long time before the champion had an answer.

"Listen, don't heal him," Sky began, "his injuries won't kill him and they will slowly heal over time, but he'll remain weak for a few days. Bring him to my room tomorrow morning. I'll think of something."

"Okay…" Alex nodded, though still unsure of what could be done to control Whisper. What were their chances if it took someone so powerful just to defeat Whisper in a battle? Still, if PureBlueSky couldn't help, no one could.

"Alright, we'll see you, tomorrow," Sky nodded. Vaguely, he wondered if he should trust this guy now. He supposed that he didn't have a choice.

Sky turned to leave, with Tempest still close behind him. The stadium was cheering his praises once again, though he realized that he hadn't been paying attention to it even before the match had started.

For a brief moment, he stopped and Tempest's heart sank. He scanned the crowd one last time, but there was still no streak of blue hidden amongst his fans. He sighed heavily, mentally cursing and calling himself foolish and weak. The sun finished setting as he crossed the stadium and night fell on Himitsu Island once again.

* * *

><p>AN: so, I decided not to use the little doll stand-in for Substitute. The description in BlackWhite says that the Pokémon makes a copy of itself that stands in for the user, so, I'm pretty sure that little doll is just a little reminder for the player that there's a substitute up. In a real-life battle, I think of it as being more akin to the clone or substitution moves they use in Naruto (if that helps, at all). But, that's just my own interpretation.

Thanks for reading!


	52. Who Needs a Champion, Anyway?

Chapter 51

In a very peculiar way, it was no surprise to Mark that he was shocked by the display of power that he had just seen. It was odd to think that he was becoming accustomed to being surprised, but it was rapidly becoming the norm as he spent more and more time on Himitsu Island.

PureBlueSky hadn't exactly dominated the match in the way that Aurum had, but at the same time, he had faced a much tougher opponent. In fact, if PureBlueSky had known what to expect, Mark was willing to bet that he would have. In either case, Alex walked away from the match with one of PureBlueSky's human Pokémon down and another severely injured. Some might call that a win.

But that was something else that confused Mark. Why had Alex forfeited? Mark knew for a fact that Alex had at least two more human Pokémon. Granted, they weren't as strong as the Zoroark, but why just give in after acquiring an edge like that? He would have to remember to ask Alex in person when they next met.

Next to him, Maple was whistling and cheering along with the rest of the crowd as PureBlueSky left the stadium. First there was Katana, now there was Tempest. Maple certainly had no shortage of female role models present at the tournament.

On Mark's opposite side, Cherry was smiling to herself, her gaze fixed firmly on Tempest, down on the field.

"A dragon…" she whispered. Her orange-red flaming tail swished back and forth a few times. Maple wasn't the only one inspired by Tempest's victory. But for Cherry, it went deeper. True, the Charmander family wasn't actually dragon-types, but along with several shared abilities, the difference was relatively minor. Charizard, of course, had plenty of physical characteristics in common with Salamence.

Now that Mark thought about it, he wondered if Cherry would still be capable of becoming a Charizard. It was a very crucial question, especially now that he planned on using her in the tournament. Could a human Charmander evolve into a human Charmeleon? For her sake, Mark hoped that she could. He supposed that they would find out together once they started training.

And they would need that training to defeat Lily, the young girl that was sitting just two seats away from him.

Sadly, Lily hadn't been able to enjoy that match. She had tried to concentrate on what was going on down on the field, but she could only incessantly glance over to the side at Silver and Aroma. Her two best friends were currently very involved with each other.

At first, Aroma had pushed Silver off to the side, complaining that the tournament stands was no place to be doing that sort of thing. That made Silver point out that at the very top of the stadium, there was no one that would be watching. This worked to some extent, but it was the kiss he planted at the base of her neck that made Aroma give in. After that, she simply focused on enjoying the feel of his lips on hers. Before she knew it, they had missed the entire match.

Lily had wondered how long she would have to endure this, but once the match was over, it became clear that they had no idea anyone else was around.

"Ahem," the first one didn't work, so she tried again, "AHEM!" Aroma scrambled to, reluctantly, push Silver away and try to compose herself. It might have been reasonably convincing if Silver hadn't messed up her mint-green hair as much as he had.

"Sorry," she quickly apologized, though she wasn't entirely sure why she did. She and Silver weren't doing anything wrong. Well…maybe a tad undignified, but not _wrong_.

Seated in between Lily and Aroma, Shinobi remained silent.

"Are we ready to go?" Lily asked as pleasantly as she could manage. She directed it more to Mark, Maple and Cherry more than her own group. For her, the time to go had started fifteen minutes ago.

Mark didn't respond, but looked to Cherry for confirmation. Now that Tempest and PureBlueSky were gone, she was eyeing the suspicious crowd that was filing out of the stadium. Her fear of crowds might keep them there much longer than what they wanted.

"Give us a few minutes," Mark responded.

"But, didn't you want to talk to PureBlueSky?" Lily urged.

"Huh?" Mark had forgotten. It had been the entire reason for coming to the match at all and somehow it had slipped his mind. He was going to recruit PureBlueSky into their fight against Team Deus. Coming to the match had been Tsunami's suggestion…

"Wait," Mark skipped PureBlueSky, "where's Eric? Didn't he say that they would be here?"

In between Lily and Mark, Maple's long ears shot straight up in alarm. She stopped cheering at the empty field and her gaze twisted back and forth as she followed the conversation.

"I kinda assumed you knew…" Lily bit her lip.

"I haven't heard anything since this morning," Mark shook his head, "you haven't either?"

"No…"

"Okay…" Mark nodded to calm his sudden fear, "let's call him. I'm sure that they're fine." He pulled out his phone and dialed Eric's number. After a few dull rings, he was greeted by an automatic message system.

"Dammit…" Mark cursed, hanging up, "no answer. I should have realized it sooner…anything could have happened. And right after Silver…"

He left that sentence unfinished. Silver had been a good leader before, but he was a far cry from the young man that was flirtatiously starting to play with Aroma's hair again. There was no help there. Silver's motivations apparently began and ended with Aroma.

"I'll try Kim," he said instead, "maybe she's seen him." The phone barely rang twice before Kim's cynical tone greeted him.

"What now, noob?"

"Hey," Mark began as he watched the crowd leaving the stadium. Maybe just another few minutes and they could leave…

"Have you seen Eric recently?" Mark asked, hoping for unexpected good news.

"The kid with the Swampert-guy?" Kim sounded as though she barely remembered last night at all, "can't say that I have. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Uh…" personally, Mark still wasn't sure if anything was wrong, but he instinctively feared the worst, "not yet, I guess."

"'Not yet?' What's that supposed to mean?" when Mark didn't answer, she continued, "Did you try his room? People don't always answer their phones, you know."

"Right…" Kim was not very much help, "we'll do that. Where are you?"

"Down at the beach, trying to pry Sprinkle away from her _fans_," she said 'fans' with an unusually high amount of disgust, even for Kim.

"Alright…" Mark concluded, "We'll let you know if we see him."

"Later," Kim finished, "HEY, ASSHO-!" The phone call cut off.

Defeated, Mark turned back to the worried faces of Maple and Lily.

"I guess we're on our own," he shrugged.

* * *

><p>There was no answer at Eric's door and they tried his cell phone three more times with no results. Lily had sent out Shinobi to search the island, but it would be some time before he returned. As quick as the human Ninjask was, he had a lot of ground to cover.<p>

By that time, Mark was growing frantic. What could have happened to Eric? Had Team Deus caught up with him? He tried not to think about it, but as the worst thing that could happen, it became the first thing Mark thought of.

The poor kid had been through so much since coming here. Fernelia had been kidnapped, Tsunami had nearly died and he had lost his tournament match all within a short time period. The kid was unbelievably tough to keep fighting after all of that. Eric was only ten and Mark actually found himself envying him for his strength of will. If it were him, he would probably want to run away and leave this place far behind.

But with that thought, an idea occurred to him.

There were two main reasons for Eric to not answer his cell phone. Either he couldn't, or he wouldn't. Mark had assumed that he couldn't, but what if Eric was deliberately ignoring him?

How long did they have before Eric left the island?

They were already heading towards the docks when Shinobi caught up with them. Of the original group, only Mark, Maple, Cherry, Lily and Shinobi remained. Silver and Aroma had returned to the hotel room, for obvious reasons.

They found Eric, along with Fernelia and Tsunami, waiting to board the last ship off of the island. The usually strong boy looked worn and tired when they caught up to him.

"Hey," Mark greeted. Now that they had found him, Mark didn't know what came next.

"Hey," Eric said, without looking up.

"So, you're just gonna leave?" Mark asked, "Just like that?"

"What's wrong with that?" Eric retorted. His adopted parents looked away. This was his decision and they would stand with him, no matter what he decided.

"Alright," Mark nodded, "You know, I'd probably do the same thing, honestly." Maple's eyes widened. Out of all of them, she wanted Eric to stay the most.

"You really are a tough kid," Mark continued, "sometimes I forget how old you really are." He knelt down on the ground, in front of him.

"Thanks," Eric said bitterly, "but, no offense, you really don't know much about me."

"No kidding," Mark shook his head, "but that's actually why we want you to stay," he gestured behind him, "all of us."

"You want us to stay and get beaten up and risk our lives for you?" Eric asked, "I don't want to fight anymore. I want to go home." Eric's family had been threatened twice in as many days. Himitsu Island was not for him. Besides, he shouldn't have come in the first place. There was no telling what Aunt Rita had been doing while he was wasting his time here.

"I'm not asking you to fight," Mark corrected, gently, "I just think that now isn't the right time to say goodbye to each other. We just met and you're already leaving?"

"They'll be after us, though," Eric's fear of Team Deus was deep, and with good reason, "we need to leave before it gets worse…"

"Yeah, you're probably right," Mark nodded, again, "we should probably all get out of here."

"Mark, no…" Maple whined. Her wide-eyed gaze darted back and forth between the two boys. She didn't want to leave and she didn't want anybody else to leave. Why were they talking about leaving?

"But, you're staying, aren't you?" Eric had played enough mind games to know it was a trap, but a small part of him wanted to hear what Mark had to say.

"Yeah, I am," Mark nodded. He could hear Maple's relieved breath and he smiled to himself, "I'm staying because there's a lot of questions that still need answering."

"Like what?"

"Like…" Mark thought for a second, picking a few of his favorites, "why the hell did Farin let us go? He could have finished us, why didn't he?" He paused to gauge Eric's reaction, "and why go to the trouble of luring us down there just to show off his little pets? He could've done that in the tournament, couldn't he?"

Eric lifted his head, "he said something weird during the fight."

"Really?" Mark stopped, his curiosity piqued, "what did he say?"

"Well," Eric thought back, the words didn't make sense, but they sounded important at the time, "I asked him why he was fighting and he said something like 'orders are orders.' Does that mean anything to you?"

Mark rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. It did mean something to him. It meant that Farin wasn't a model employee for Team Deus. Part of what he did was because he had been ordered to do it while everything else was something extra. Farin was a rogue administrator with a lot of power. If they accepted that, then his two-faced behavior made much more sense. But which half had given out orders to abduct human Pokémon? Which half wanted them dead?

"It sure does," Mark smiled and nodded.

Eric brightened a little at that information. Not all of his suffering had been for nothing.

"Come on, Eric," Mark encouraged him, "you're a tough kid, you can take these guys. Hell, you already took down two of Farin's Pokémon by yourself."

"I guess we did, huh?" Eric couldn't help but smile. It hadn't been easy, but who knew? Maybe if Stone Edge had hit that stupid Crobat the first time…no, he couldn't risk his family again.

"Come on, Eric!" Maple leaned forward as she encouraged him, "we'll all be with you! Just stay! Pleeeease?" Lily also smiled down at him, while Shinobi nodded, silently pledging his loyalty.

Eric looked up at his parents sitting next to him, "what do you guys think?"

"It's your decision, son," Tsunami shrugged, "but, personally, I think these guys are going to need our help."

"You have good friends, here," Fernelia added, "we should stay together."

Eric nodded. That decided it, but there was one more person who hadn't said anything.

Cherry had been silent during the entire conversation. Her expression had also been impossible to read. Mark might be playing mind games with him, but he felt like he could get an honest answer out of the Charmander-girl.

"What about you?" he asked her.

"Me?" Cherry was confused that he even asked. She was tired from running around the island and growing hungrier by the minute. The boy in front of her was the same age, but she had never paid any special attention to him because of it. What could he possibly want with her?

"Yeah," Eric nodded, "you used to be with them. Do you think we can win?"

Cherry blinked a few times. She realized that she was supposed to lie. It would comfort the boy if she lied and probably convince him to come back. But what did that matter to her? He wasn't Master Vince.

Still, she felt a strange attachment to the people around her. For all of their faults, they had rescued her from her prison. They wanted to give her a home. Not only that, but despite her arguments with Mark and their constant coddling, she still liked them.

But lying to comfort someone was something that she couldn't do.

"No," Cherry answered, "no, we can't win. There's too many. And they're not just here, they're everywhere. Anywhere you go, you will always be fighting them. They won't leave you alone, ever." The small gathering stared at the girl, shocked by her words. Just how powerful was Team Deus?

"But no one has ever gotten inside before," Cherry continued, "ever." She looked around her at the group that had rescued her. She had no clue what it was, but there was something special about them.

"No one, huh?" Eric smirked, "no one but us," he paused for a moment to make his decision. "Alright, I'll come with you. I guess if anybody's going to beat them, it might as well be us."

"So, you're staying?" Mark extended his hand out to Eric.

"Staying," he answered, and shook Mark's hand.

As the group of friends walked back to the hotel, Mark started to feel like they didn't even need PureBlueSky.

* * *

><p>AN: One more chapter and then we're on to Day 5! Yay!<p>

Thanks for reading!


	53. Partners in the Dark

Chapter 52

The wind was blowing hard. The jacket of the person standing in front of her was whipping in the wind. Her eyes stung as the wind blew and she had to narrow her gaze to see anything. Still, the best she could make out was little more than a shadow. Even so, she recognized him just the same.

There was another person standing behind her. His presence comforted her as she faced the other one in front of her. The boy behind her was the smaller of the two and younger by two years. But he was the one that she knew as her trainer.

The two boys were arguing about Pokémon, like they always did. Battle strategies and which Pokémon was stronger than another, that sort of thing. Flurry's mother, a kind Eevee, had taught her that all Pokémon were equal and each had a special place in the world. The boy that was her trainer seemed to want to believe that as well, but the other boy often made him reconsider.

They were standing on a cliff somewhere along Mt. Coronet. The height added a chill to the air that Flurry welcomed and even basked in. She only wished it was snowing, like it did in the north around Snowpoint City, where she had evolved into a Glaceon. Her trainer had made sure to teach her Hail so that she could call it whenever she wanted. But she was a good Pokémon and she didn't call it when it wasn't needed. Often it hurt her friends, which was a terrible side-effect.

However, with the way that the argument was going, he would let her make it snow very soon.

"I mean, seriously, a Glaceon?" the tall boy was scoffing at her trainer. It was an old argument, so Flurry didn't pay much attention, "you use a Glaceon?! Come on, man, there's better Pokémon than that."

"Don't make fun of her," a gentle hand was scratching behind her ear, "she works well on my team. I tell you, people underestimate Eevees."

"Whatever," the boy laughed. Flurry only came up to his knee, "she's always the first to go down. Ice is just not a good type, man."

"Like you and your Torterra can talk," Flurry's trainer argued back.

"Yeah, so what?" The tall boy laughed harder, "dude, half of your team is weak against Stealth Rock! You call that building a good team?!"

"I've beaten you, haven't I?"

"Hey, the record stands at twenty-seven wins for me, twenty-five for you," the boy flashed his fingers as he re-counted.

"It's the other way around," Flurry's trainer answered, "twenty-seven for me, twenty-five for you."

"You don't believe me?"

"You're the one who keeps a tally, not me. Check your records; I swear I've won more matches than you have."

"Dude, I will beat you senseless, right here and now," the tall boy pulled out a Pokéball and grinned widely. He was always eager for a Pokémon battle. There was no malice or ill-intent behind these contests. The boys had been fighting for months. It was how they had met. It was how they had bonded. Fighting _was_ their friendship.

"Thought you'd never ask," Flurry's trainer stopped scratching her ear and stood up, "Come on, Flurry! Let's show Edward here what he's missing out on. Again."

"Don't call me that stupid name!" the larger boy shouted with no real anger, "At least call me, Ed. Anything's better than _Edward_."

* * *

><p>Had that been a memory or was it just a dream? All of Flurry's memories from before she was part human were getting hazy. They were another life away. A life that felt less real with every day that passed.<p>

Flurry woke up in a hospital bed. Her body ached all over and at first she couldn't remember why she was there.

Groaning, she started to sit up. As she did so, she remembered that most of her clothing had been burnt off. All of the important bits were there, but for modesty's sake she kept her bed sheet wrapped around her.

But burnt off how? She remembered the flames, but what else was-

Then, everything came back to her in a rush. Whisper's horrible, mocking laughter, the pain as the flames soaked through her body and somebody screaming in a voice that couldn't be hers, but was.

Flurry shivered violently and clutched the sheet around her. She didn't understand it. She was an ice-type human Pokémon. She never shivered.

"You're awake!" Ian was right by her side, clutching a Styrofoam cup filled with a steaming liquid, "here! I brought cocoa!" He thrust it out for her, almost spilling the hot drink onto his hands.

Flurry noticed that his eyes were puffy and red.

"Thank you, Ian," she managed to say, though the memory of the flames was still close by. Politely, she sipped on the drink, though in truth she would have preferred something cold instead. Heat was the last thing she wanted to feel, right then.

"Ian…" as the boy sipped his own drink, she noticed the bandages wrapped around his hands, "what happened to your-?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Ian waved it off, "they gave me a shot, just in case, but I'll be fine."

Flurry didn't like the answer, but she also realized that the boy didn't want to worry her. He was trying to be grown-up for her. In his own way, Ian was trying to make her feel better. It was sweet.

Still, Revives and Potions didn't work on humans.

"How long have we been here?" Flurry asked him, glancing around the room. She recognized it as a treatment room in the Pokémon Center. Ian must have brought her here after the match.

"Just an hour," the boy answered, "I ran you straight here after Tempest beat up that Zoroark. So, don't worry about him. Sky got him good."

"An hour…" the information did not comfort Flurry. It had not been an easy recovery for her. Ordinarily, it only took one Revive to bring a human Pokémon back to consciousness, but Flurry had been out for much longer. Had the shock hurt her that much? It was strange…

"Oh, Sky's here too," Ian continued, "I think they just finished patching Tempest up."

"Okay," Flurry nodded. But she barely heard him. Her hands started shaking and she put the steaming cup on top of the table next to her.

What was wrong with her? She had been hit by Flamethrower before. She had suffered countless injuries during Pokémon battles, before she evolved into a woman and after. So why did this one hurt so much?

But she remembered Whisper's eyes. That devilish intent, that drive to kill. He hadn't just wanted to beat her. He wanted to take her, dominate her, torture her and kill her. She wasn't a woman to Whisper, she was a toy. And she had been helpless to stop him.

"Flurry…" Ian was petrified, "you're crying."

"Huh?" Flurry wiped at her eyes and was stunned when the back of her hand came away wet.

"Here," Ian offered her a tissue. She dabbed at her eyes, but it did little to help. Her body still shook with the fear. Dear Arceus, _why wouldn't it stop_?!

The door opened, without any warning, and Flurry jolted upright. But it was PureBlueSky who walked through, followed closely by Tempest.

"How are you feeling?" he asked Flurry. The answer was obvious, but he never knew what to say at times like these. He was terribly inept at comforting people.

"I'll live…" Flurry hung her head, "I guess…"

Sky sighed and walked over to stand beside his human Glaceon's bed. He tried to crouch down so he was eye-level with Flurry, but the position was too awkward. Instead, he knelt and wound up being a few inches shorter.

Flurry smirked down at him, "you're weird, you know." She shook her head and dabbed at her eyes with the tissue, again.

"Sorry," Sky apologized off-hand. Weird was how he was made, he was used to it by then. On the upside, his awkward behavior had cracked a smile on Flurry's face.

"And I'm sorry about the fight, too," Sky continued, "I shouldn't have left you in there."

"You couldn't have known," Flurry pointed out, "it happens, doesn't it?"

"He almost killed you," Sky unknowingly confirmed Flurry's worst fear, "after you passed out he…tried to use another Flamethrower. You…wouldn't have woken up."

"But you stopped him?"

"Barely…" Sky shook his head, "I'm sorry."

"Stop it," Flurry turned away, "just stop."

"Alright…" Sky sighed. He really was awful at this.

"But, thank you," Flurry added, "thank you for caring," she closed her eyes, afraid to say what came next, "I didn't think you did, anymore."

"What?" PureBlueSky stared up at her, then he reached out to take her wrist, "Flurry, you're my human Pokémon. I will always care about you."

"Is that all we are to you?" Flurry sniffed back fresh tears. But she knew why she was crying those.

Sky didn't answer. What could he possibly say to that?

"Get some rest," he said instead, "I'm heading back to the room." He stood up and left, leaving Ian and Tempest alone with Flurry.

"I'm sorry, Tempest," Flurry sniffed, "I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay," the Salamence-woman nodded, "I agreed with you. He just needs a little more time."

"I know," Flurry nodded, "I just don't want him to run away from us, too."

* * *

><p>The pain Flurry felt in her hospital bed was only minor compared to the agony that Whisper felt when he woke up inside his Pokéball nearly five hours later. He didn't know how long it had been, but he knew enough to realize that no one had used a Revive on him. The pain told him that. No one had taken him to a Pokémon Center and no one was going to.<p>

Whisper forced his way out of his Pokéball. It was an easy task, but his body screamed in protest. He would heal faster if he stayed hidden, but he couldn't wait. If Alex wasn't going to heal him, that meant he was up to something.

The hour was so late and the night so dark that the bright flash did not wake his trainer. Whisper stumbled and dropped to his knees. His wounds had closed, but they felt as if they wanted to rip open again. Tempest had ripped dozens of cuts and gashes into his chest and his clothes were soaked with blood. But he had to force himself to move.

Suddenly, his instincts warned him he was being watched. Lying on the floor to his right, Coraline, the Banette-girl, was waking up. Ghost-types were always light sleepers, if one could say that they slept at all.

Whisper's hand struck out like a cobra and seized Coraline. Pushing aside the pain, he grabbed her around her throat and held her at arm's length, her feet dangling off of the ground. Whisper was so weak that if he was forced to fight this girl, he would probably lose. But he knew that and she didn't. It gave him the only opportunity he had. He tightened his grip around her neck to get her attention before he pulled her close enough to whisper into her ear.

"Make a single sound," he warned, "or fight me in any way and I will kill you and everyone in this room. Understand?"

The terrified ghost-girl nodded violently, but Whisper did not release her until he was at the door. He reflected that he probably should've killed her, anyway, but he doubted that he possessed the strength.

He stumbled down the hall, clutching to the wall for support. There was nowhere to run that he wouldn't be found. Despite his threats, Alex would be after him once Coraline regained her wits. He needed to move, but his legs felt like they were made of lead.

A large gash in his side re-opened and fresh blood began to trickle out. Whisper bit his tongue to keep himself from crying out, but he could barely contain it. Red spots began to dot the carpet as he staggered away.

Damn that Salamence-bitch!

Finally, he reached the elevator. He fumbled at the controls before finding the button that would take him to the ground floor. He pressed it with a shaking finger and promptly collapsed onto the elevator floor.

When it finally arrived, the door shut again before Whisper could even stand. The simple process of standing up and opening the door was agony, but somehow he managed it. The door tried to slide shut on him twice more before he was finally through.

Avoiding the main lobby, Whisper ducked to a side door. He burst out into the warm night air, but he didn't get far after that. He collapsed once more into the bushes planted alongside the hotel. He breathed in ragged gasps, wondering if he would pass out again.

Rest was the only way to heal himself, but it meant captivity. And captivity meant that he would be at the mercy of Alex and PureBlueSky. He couldn't know what they were planning, but Whisper would not be caged.

"I honestly don't know whether to clap or call you a fool," a man emerged through the darkness a short distance to Whisper's left.

The Zoroark-man snapped to attention, but it was a mistake that sent pain lancing up his side. He clutched it and bit his tongue again.

"Your name's Whisper, right?" the man walked up to him. He eyed Whisper with a possessive look that made Whisper's blood boil. No one controlled him.

"And just who the hell are you?!" Whisper snarled at the stranger.

"I'm Help, actually," the man smirked.

"Don't toy with me!" Whisper would rip his face off and feed it to him if he could move.

"Fine, fine," the man shrugged, "testy, aren't we? My name's Cal."

"That supposed to mean something to me?"

"No," Cal shook his head, "I like it better when no one knows who I am."

"Get on with it," Whisper tried to stand and failed.

"Well, the thing is Whisper," Cal began, "I'm from an organization called Team Deus. We're a small little operation with big plans for you, this island, and, well, the entire world really," he paused, "I'm here with…let's call it a job offer."

"Job offer?" Whisper grumbled laughter, "You want me to be a dog for your Team Rocket wannabe group?"

"'Dog' is so demeaning," Cal shook his head, "how does Wolf sound? Any better?"

"Go to Hell," Whisper tried to stand again and once more his knees gave way. If he could stand, he'd roast this man alive. His screams wouldn't be as pleasant as the Glaceon-girl, but they could be satisfying in their own way.

"Come on, now, Whisper," Cal was not deterred in the slightest, he still hadn't used his biggest trump card, "how far do you think you can make it on your own, hmm? How long before they catch you and make a special cage to keep you locked up? A Pokémon needs a trainer, Whisper."

"And what makes you think I'll go with you?"

It was the question Cal was waiting for.

"Because," his grin widened, "if you come with me, I'll let you kill."

Now that was interesting. It was true, even if Whisper could stay hidden this one night, it would be days, maybe even weeks, before he was at full strength again. Until then, he was helpless. A Pidgey could put him in the hospital. He looked around, trying to think of a way out. His gaze shifted upward and he could see a lighted window high up in the hotel. Alex's room, he was certain of it.

"Time's up, Whisper," Cal grinned, "what's it gonna be?"

Whisper tried to stand once more. Though his legs were shuddering under his weight, this time he succeeded. He brought himself up to his full height, standing three inches taller than Cal.

"I just want one thing straight," Whisper warned.

"I'm listening," Cal cocked his head to the side.

"You are not my master," Whisper growled, "no one ever will be."

Cal grinned once more at this information, "a man after my own black heart. Excellent."

He made no effort to help Whisper as the human Zoroark limped after him and the two new partners vanished into the night of Himitsu Island.

* * *

><p>AN: Whisper will be back, don't worry. I've put far too much effort into his character to have him vanish like Tristan and Abe (both of whom I'd like to bring back at some point).<p>

So, hope you enjoy the chapter! Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!

P.S. Audino, man. Audino


	54. Aurum's Test

Chapter 53

Palkia's Woods was unusually still the next morning. There was no wind to rustle the leaves and even the forest Pokémon made little noise. It was a bit of a disappointment for Katana. It made her training easier and that was no fun at all.

The young Weavile-woman stood with her arms crossed and her eyes shut in a small clearing downriver from where Aurum was fishing. Aside from the bubbling of the river and her trainer's occasional swearing, there were no other sounds to distract her from her targets.

She counted; three Pidgey at seven o'clock, in a cluster, a Wurmple at nine o'clock, up high, and a Rattata rooting around in the shrubs at four o'clock. All of them were within fifty yards of her. Easy.

Concentrating, she created two small handfuls of short daggers made of ice. With her eyes still shut, she spun in place, throwing the Ice Shards near simultaneously. As one, the three Pidgey and the Wurmple fell from their perches and hit the ground, while the Rattata squeaked in pain before slumping over. It was then that Katana opened her eyes to check her work. Not that she needed to.

She paused for a few moments before the five hurt Pokémon rose again and scampered off into the woods. As they fled, they cursed her in various squeaks and cries. It was a language that she no longer understood. Another price to pay for evolving into a human Pokémon. That world was closed to her and its members hated her. They branded her as a traitor and an embarrassment for forsaking them. It was the same with all human Pokémon.

Sometimes, Katana wondered what it would be like living in that world. She had been bred into a life serving a trainer and she never knew what the wild was like. She had often considered herself to be a free spirit, but was she truly like that if she had never roamed the world on her own? What truths did wild Pokémon know that she didn't?

Maybe that was part of why she chose to evolve. It was the next step into a bigger world; the human world.

But which world did she truly belong in?

Sighing, she closed her eyes again, searching for new, more distant targets.

But she found something different, this time. There were footsteps coming from the east. Some she recognized but most she did not.

The easiest to pick out was Maple. The Leafeon-girl walked so delicately that she hardly even bent the grass as she approached. A short distance in front of her, there were Mark's unsteady footsteps, but Katana did not recognize the others. There were six of them in total. One of them did not take steps, but the insect-like buzzing was unmistakable.

Listening to each in turn, Katana realized that the boy and the Leafeon-girl had made some friends during their absence. Friends that he no doubt expected Aurum to train. Katana smirked to herself. There would be little chance of that. Aurum did not give lessons to just anyone.

Deciding to call an end to her warm-up, Katana began bounding away, back to the lake where Aurum awaited. Just for fun, she shot a final Ice Shard over her shoulder at an Aipom dangling from a tree, about a hundred yards back. The icicle hit it directly in the center of the forehead before it shattered into shimmering bits. The Aipom tumbled to the ground, then rose after a few seconds and scampered away into the woods, screeching indignantly as it went.

* * *

><p>Cherry's expression was hard and stern, but on the inside, her stomach wouldn't stay still. Mark had told her that today would be the start of her training, but she had no idea what to expect. She hadn't been in a battle in months and she had still been a normal Charmander at the time. Mark had also told her that she would be training with one of the strongest human Pokémon trainers in existence. No doubt he could brush her aside with little effort. Could she even train with someone so powerful?<p>

Maple's advice on Aurum, the Golden Trainer, did little to help ease her wariness.

"_He's great!"_ She had told Cherry the previous night, _"him and Katana both! I mean, I can barely even scratch Katana even after they taught me their Red State. It made me a lot stronger, but there's still a lot I need to learn! And they know everything!"_

Cherry had no idea how to react to that.

She also had no idea how to feel about the presence of Lily. Weren't they supposed to fight her in another four days? Wasn't bringing her along to train going to hurt them? Becoming stronger would be pointless if their opponents did it too. They were helping the enemy.

"Welcome back, you two," a tall, intimidating Weavile-woman approached them as they emerged through the woods. Despite her uncooperative nerves, Cherry peered at her suspiciously. But the stranger took no notice, smirking at the group with a confidence that suggested she could defeat them all single-handedly. Cherry had no doubt that it was true.

"Katana!" Maple shouted in greeting and started forward. Cherry presumed that Maple wanted to hug her, but the Weavile-woman backed off and went into a defensive stance. Maple peered at her in hurt confusion.

However, the awkward moment was forgotten as an old man walked purposefully up to Mark, fishing pole in hand.

"Hi…" Mark began awkwardly, "I know it's been-OW!"

A sharp slap sounded in the still forest as Aurum hit Mark's arm with his fishing pole.

"Hey! What was that-OW!"

The second blow caught him across his collarbone. The attacks came as quick snaps, much too fast for the boy to avoid or even prepare for. The pain stun across the narrow strip where the wooden pole had hit, but it faded quickly. If Aurum had truly wanted to hurt him, Mark doubted he would still be standing.

"_Two days_?!" Aurum planted his fishing pole in front of him, leaning on it as if it were a cane, or perhaps a sword, "Two full days without training! How do you expect to win if you slack off like that?! You should be spending every single hour training, you fool!"

"Yeah, I know, but-" the fishing pole came up and struck his knee this time. The blow was hard enough to make him slump forward so that he was partially bowing down to the small old man.

"No excuses," Aurum no longer yelled, but instead looked down at his pupil with disdain.

"It won't happen again," Mark told Aurum, not knowing whether he could keep that promise. Two days really was a long time to go without training. Their last session had only barely been enough for Mark to win his first match. He couldn't afford time off to watch matches and chase after Team Deus. Still, he knew there were more important things than making Aurum happy. Besides, without the rescue mission against Team Deus, Cherry wouldn't be at his side.

"You have a second one?" Aurum switched his gaze to Cherry, his face expressionless, but his voice softened. The small Charmander-girl felt her heart beat twice as fast, but she hardened her own expression. There was no room for weakness in the presence of someone so powerful. She had come to prove herself and she needed to start now.

"Yes," Mark nodded, glancing over at Cherry while he rubbed his knee, "you'll train her, right?"

"Only if she can keep up," Aurum told him.

That did not sound good. Maple had far more battle experience than Cherry and _she _had barely been able to keep pace. If Aurum wasn't going to hold back, then training the ten-year-old girl was going to be difficult, if not impossible.

Next, Aurum looked Mark's new companions up and down, gauging and evaluating each one. Lily and Eric huddled together amidst their human Pokémon. They were instantly terrified of Aurum's punishment against their friend. To Aurum, they were little more than a group of scared children.

"They're friends of mine," Mark straightened, ignoring the last bits of lingering pain in his knee, "we need you to train us all. We need your help."

"No," Aurum did not so much as take a second glance.

"What?!" Mark shouted in disbelief, "I didn't even say why!"

"It doesn't matter," Aurum shook his head, "I agreed to train you; only you. I'm not opening a school. Training these others would be a waste of time."

Eric and Lily each took a few steps back. They felt hurt by Aurum's harsh words, but it paled in comparison to their sudden fear of the old man. Mark and Maple had trained with someone like this? What kind of Hell had they been through?

"How can you say something like that?" Mark stared at his teacher. This was their best chance to be able to do something against Team Deus. But Aurum wasn't going to lift a finger to help them.

"Fine," Aurum removed a Pokéball from his belt, "I'll prove it. Nails."

The Pokéball dropped to the ground, opening to reveal a figure resembling a medieval knight clad head-to-toe in sturdy, steel armor. Spiked pauldrons covered his shoulders, while a plate of steel, also adorned in spikes covered his chest. Still more armor covered his arms and legs allowing for only a small amount of movement. Even his yellow eyes were barely visible through the visor of his spiked helmet. Three vine-like extensions hung loosely from the gauntlets on each of his hands, tipped in small spiked balls. There was scarcely a spot on the human Ferrothorn's body that wasn't covered in spikes.

"You three," Aurum gestured to Shinobi, Tsunami and Fernelia, "all of you attack him at the same time. If you can defeat him, I'll agree to train you."

Mark looked over at his friends. Even with three of them, it was doubtful that they would be able to topple a human Ferrothorn. The incredible defense of a Ferrothorn was something that was near impossible to break without the use of a fire-type attack. Something that none of them possessed.

Even still, they eagerly stepped forward, ready to earn their place alongside Mark, Maple and Cherry.

As the four human Pokémon squared off, the others backed away to give them room. All except for Aurum, who remained where he was even though he stood a mere three feet from Nails.

Lily and Eric exchanged uneasy glances. The two had never fought beside each other before and Aurum's unshakable confidence terrified both of them. But only Lily, with her greater amount of battle experience, knew the true difficulty of facing a Ferrothorn. This was not a fight they could win. Not if Aurum really was as powerful as they said he was.

"X-Scissor!"

"Ice Beam! Magical Leaf!"

Dashing forward with incredible speed, Shinobi was the first to land a hit. The blades on his arms slashed across the chest plate of the enemy Ferrothorn. But he paid a price for it. It was impossible to land a direct attack without also being hurt by the spikes covering the impenetrable armor. Nails also showed no reaction whatsoever to the attack. In truth, Shinobi's attack had hurt himself more than the enemy.

But there was no time to rethink their strategy. Shinobi buzzed past as Tsunami's Ice Beam and Fernelia's Air Slash connected with the unflinching enemy knight. The jet of super-cooled water and the thin, flying leaves had no greater effect on Nails than Shinobi's direct assault. After three attacks, the Ferrothorn was barely fazed.

"Power Whip," Aurum said, bored with the exercise.

His armor creaking, Nails began to swing the extensions of his right arm overhead. Faster and faster they spun, creating a high-pitched whistling sound. When he was satisfied, he slammed the end of the whip down at Tsunami's head. The Swampert-man tried to dodge, but he clumsily bumped into Fernelia. The steel ball at the end of the Power Whip caught him in the back of the head, driving him face-first into the ground.

Tsunami groaned in pain and tried to stand. Blood was trickling out of both of his strangely shaped ears and he coughed up a mouthful of the thick red liquid. Finally, he slumped forward, defeated in a single blow.

Lily and Eric exchanged another terrified glance. It was the absolute best they could have done. They were totally outclassed by the Ferrothorn-knight. Even if Tsunami's Ice Beam had somehow frozen Nails where he stood they had little hope of even denting him. They had no choice but to try again.

But the second round of attacks was no more effective than the first. The sturdy opponent made no effort to dodge and didn't need to. Mark shook his head at the hopeless battle. Three against one and they still had no chance. But what could he do?

"Gyro Ball," Aurum sighed. This time, when Shinobi came in for the attack, Nails was ready for him. With unnatural agility for someone clad in so much armor, Nails began to spin in place, slow at first and then faster and faster. While spinning, he dashed forward and collided with Shinobi. The spikes of the human Ferrothorn's armor dug into Shinobi and came away wet with blood.

The human Ninjask was fast, but it did nothing to help him against an attack like Gyro Ball. With a disheartening buzz he collapsed to the ground at Nails' feet.

That left Fernelia as the only opponent that Nails hadn't defeated.

"Stop it!" Mark yelled, stepping forward.

"Stay out of this," Aurum growled at Mark with those same acid tones that he reserved solely for the boy, "this is not your fight."

"Yes it is," Mark insisted, "I won't let you do this to them! I said we need your help! What do I have to do to make you see that?!"

"Fight me," Aurum told him, "if you win, then I'll train them too."

"Fine, then," Mark scowled, "Maple." The Leafeon-girl stepped forward uneasily. Three opponents had barely even scratched Nails, what difference could Maple make? Did Mark have a plan? If anyone it should be Cherry. A fire-type attack would be the best that they had for fighting a Ferrothorn…right?

Maple stepped forward, biting her lip nervously. She called on her Red State, but the power boost it gave her did little to help her confidence. But still, everyone was watching her, now. She had become close friends with Lily and Eric, been trained by Aurum and Katana and…

She almost didn't say it. She had never said it to herself before, but when the words were there, she knew they were true.

She had fallen in love with Mark.

"Swords Dance," Mark instructed.

Maple nodded and concentrated, beginning the ritual. The phantom swords swirled around her as she spun in place. She grasped two of them by the hilt and struck blade on blade twice before all of them disappeared at once.

By that time, Nails had managed to stomp his way over to Maple. He launched another Gyro Ball attack, driving his spikes against her. The blow, made her reel back, but she stayed on her feet and no wound was left on her. She wasn't as vulnerable to the attack as Shinobi was. It hurt, there was no question, but she would not fall to it so easily.

"Again," Mark commanded.

_Again_? Lily and Eric both stared at him. What did he have to gain from performing Swords Dance a second time? Shouldn't he attack now?

But Maple never questioned it. She bounced back, easily outdistancing the slow Ferrothorn, before restarting the dance, sharpening her abilities even further.

Aurum smiled.

Again, Nails closed the distance, his armor clanging around with every step. Pain lanced through Maple's body as he collided into her with another Gyro Ball. She stumbled back, the bodice of her dress now dotted with blood. She closed her eyes to shut out the pain, but it was worse than she had expected. There was still so much training to do before she could fight Nails on equal footing.

"Alright, Synthesis," Mark began to calm down. If it took two Gyro Balls to weaken Maple this much, then victory was indeed possible. He needed to wait and fight carefully.

Grateful for the order, Maple folded her hands as if in prayer. She closed her eyes as the bright sunlight of the day fueled her healing technique. The pain in her chest faded as Synthesis gave her strength and mended her wounds.

Before the third Gyro Ball could hit, Maple bounced away, using her superior movement to her advantage. She wasn't bleeding anymore, but she was becoming incredibly annoyed at the repeated assault. It was nothing but an endurance contest, seeing who could outlast who.

"One more," Mark urged, "Swords Dance."

Maple groaned aloud. She didn't like fighting like this. Battles should be faster. She should be slashing and dodging, trying to break through that heavy armor. She should be _moving_ for crying out loud!

"Alright, do it now," Mark nodded, "Dig." Thanking Arceus for the chance to finally attack, Maple spring-boarded into the air and dove into the ground. In moments she would reappear and the battle would be decided.

Mark grinned as he saw Nails' yellow eyes widen within his visor.

Maple burst from the ground between Nails' feet. Her fist connected with the bottom of his spiked helmet, denting the metal. The human Ferrothorn flew backwards and landed in a crumpled and clanging heap. He did not get back up.

Victorious, Maple sat down in the grass and clutched her hand. Her own attack had broken three of her fingers and the skin of her knuckle had split open, leaving it bloody and shaking from the pain. But Maple did not cry out. She was too happy that she had actually beaten the damned Ferrothorn.

"Very well," Aurum nodded. "You two," he startled Lily and Eric as they came to attention, "go to the Pokémon Center and heal your injured. I'm not wasting my medicine on you."

Too dumbfounded to speak, the two nodded hurriedly and dashed away, back into the woods.

Aurum turned to Mark, "Good work." It was the first compliment Aurum had ever given him. He turned away quickly, walking over to his injured Ferrothorn. They would need him again very soon.

"Umm…thank you," Mark nodded. A moment ago the two had been bitter enemies, but with Maple's win it was as if it had never happened. Mark hated Aurum, yet somehow he felt proud to train under him.

Katana helped Maple to her feet, placing a Hyper Potion in the girl's unbroken hand. Maple drank it gratefully, though she grimaced at the taste of the bitter liquid mixing with the blood in her mouth. She often liked new experiences, but as the potion mended her broken fingers, she decided that there were some that she could do without.

Katana smiled at the girl. She and Mark really were good apprentices. They weren't just strong, but they were smart, too. Maple would never have won if Mark hadn't been patient enough to boost her attack power to its maximum potential.

It was the only strategy between all of their human Pokémon that could defeat Nails. It was a strategy that not everyone would see. But Mark saw it and exploited it in the only way that he could.

Could Aurum have known the entire time? Was that why he had chosen Nails, who could brush aside the others, but lose to Maple in a one-on-one contest?

Katana glanced between Aurum and Mark. The two hated each other, but they were master and apprentice nevertheless. If Aurum knew the others would lose, then she wondered who the Golden Trainer had really been testing…

* * *

><p>AN: BEHOLD THE RIDICULOUS DEFENSE OF A FERROTHORN!<p>

Btw, Nails actually marks the third character that I designed myself with no drawing for its basis. The first was Tyrant (EdgeoftheEarth's Tyranitar) and the second was Lionel's Lanturn. I'd post the originals if I could, but sadly some of them (like Cascade) no longer exist on the internet so I can't link to them. It makes me sad…

Anyways, as always thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!


	55. Back to Basics

Chapter 54

"Now then," Aurum turned to Cherry where she stood behind Mark. The small Charmander-girl was too nervous to hide it any longer. Her lower lip quivered slightly as she stared at him. She had seen many powerful trainers while she awaited Master Vince's return in the Team Deus prison, but none came close to this grouchy, old man. He commanded six obscenely powerful human Pokémon. She couldn't possibly be capable of training underneath him.

Mark looked back at her and began to wonder if it was too late to forget the whole thing. Cherry had agreed to fight and train, but she was clearly terrified. She looked far too much like the scared, lonely little girl that had cried into his shirt when he had rescued her.

"Cherry," he began, gently, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

But then, the moment passed.

Cherry swallowed and managed to compose herself. She had been weak again and Mark had seen it. She had thought that was all behind her, but she had slipped all over again. She had to remind herself that she had been through worse than this already. If anyone could stand up to this, she could.

"I'm fine," Cherry snapped at Mark, using her anger to hide her weakness, "I said I could do this and I'm going to do it."

After that, Mark had no choice, "okay…" he sighed.

Aurum came up to them and looked between the teenage boy and his newest human Pokémon companion, studying the girl. There were always signs to indicate how powerful a Pokémon was, and human Pokémon were no different. Sometimes they even showed the same signs. It was that way with the Charmander-girl. The flame on the tip of her tail was a small one. This girl had a long, hard road ahead of her.

"What do you know?" Aurum asked, bypassing her trainer.

"Not much…" Cherry looked at the ground so she didn't have to meet Aurum's piercing gaze.

"Show me," he commanded.

"Okay…" Cherry turned around in order to aim her attacks away from the humans, "let's see…there's this…" Cherry flexed her hand and in an instant it became covered with orange-red scales with the fingers tipped in gleaming claws. She swiped through the air a few times, striking at an invisible foe. Sadly, the movements were slow and had very little power behind each one.

_Scratch_, Mark thought. One of the most basic Pokémon abilities in existence.

"And this…" Cherry's hand returned to normal as she picked a new attack. She cleared her throat and let out a loud snarl.

_Growl_, Mark thought with growing apprehension. The sound was hardly menacing coming from the little girl.

"Ooo! This is my favorite!" Cherry squeaked with delight before showing her third attack. She drew in a deep breath and exhaled, spewing a small barrage of tiny flames through the air. After they traveled about twenty yards, each one began to flicker and fade.

_Ember_, Mark bit his lip. It was just as he feared. Cherry had told him that she had evolved into a girl after spending just a short time with her first trainer. She knew only the most basic of a Charmander's abilities. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"Is that everything?" Mark asked, hoping for more.

"Well…" Cherry dropped her gaze to the ground again, "there is one more…but Master Vince said I shouldn't show it to anyone," she paused, "I'm not supposed to know it."

"Cherry," Mark bent forward, "if there's anything that can help, we need you to tell us."

Cherry bit her lip as she thought about it. Even after she had been abandoned by Master Vince and rescued by Mark, she was still reluctant to reveal this. It was a secret that she had only shared with Master Vince. If she showed it to Mark…

But Master Vince wasn't coming back. She had evolved for him and he had abandoned her just as quickly. The truth of it still hurt. She wanted to bury that hurt somewhere deep inside herself and forget it was there. Her first trainer…gone…

"Okay…" Cherry nodded, "I'll show you."

She did not turn around this time. She closed her eyes, remembering the secret ability. She shouldn't know it and had only used it a handful of times for fear of discovery.

She moved her right foot back as she readied herself. And then, quickly kicking her leg back up, she leapt a foot into the air, spinning in a tight spiral. She bounced up and down twice before stopping.

"That's it," Cherry shrugged, "it's not much…"

"Dragon Dance," Mark recognized the ability. Much like Maple's Swords Dance, Dragon Dance was more of a ritual than an attack. Many dragon Pokémon used it. It enhanced both the attack power and speed of the user. In the right hands, it could be devastating.

But Charmander did not learn it through training. It was an ability that many called an Egg Move, which meant Cherry had been born knowing it. Cherry's father had been a dragon-type. No wonder she thought that she wasn't supposed to know it.

"Thank you, Cherry," Mark smiled at her, "that was very helpful." He reached down and ruffled her bright red hair. Half-frowning, the girl rolled her eyes and tried to smooth it back again.

"But could you do me a favor?" Mark continued, smirking, "don't show that to Lily."

Cherry grinned evilly, sensing Mark's intentions, "absolutely." If they could train Cherry enough, then she would become his best chance of defeating Lily in Round Two. She could already safely predict most of what Cherry was capable of, but Dragon Dance could be the extra edge they needed.

Scratch, Growl, Ember and Dragon Dance. It was not an impressive move set, but it was the best that Cherry had. Now there was nothing left to do but train.

"So, what now?" Mark asked, "I guess we teach her the Red State?"

"No," Aurum shook his head, "she's too young to use it."

"What?"

"You heard me," Aurum snapped, "she's too young. Human Pokémon need to be at least thirteen or fourteen to be able to use the Red State."

Mark stared at Aurum, bewildered by this new information. But he had learned better than to ask why. Aurum would not answer him if he did and it was entirely possible that even Aurum did not know the reason. Besides, he still had a tight grip on his fishing pole.

"And don't think I'm teaching your friends to use it, either," Aurum continued in the same grouchy tone, "It's far too dangerous to teach to everyone. I only did it so you would have a chance."

"Alright…" Mark agreed. He did not argue with that point. It was clearly a dangerous ability to use. He had seen that first-hand. And the more he learned about it, the more he realized that they didn't really know anything about it.

And whenever Maple used it, he had to wonder what it was doing to her.

"First, offensive training," Aurum dropped the subject and moved on, "Nails!"

Aurum's Ferrothorn-knight, newly healed, began to stomp his way over to them. Cherry began to feel the cold grip of terror around her again as he marched towards her. Even with an overwhelming type advantage against the steel and grass Ferrothorn, the difference in power was enormous. It would be like trying to burn down a redwood with a candle.

But Aurum was undeterred, "start using Ember. This is going to take a while."

Cherry groaned as Aurum and Mark backed away to leave her alone against the immovable Nails. She drew in a deep breath and sprayed the small sparks of flame at the armor encased knight, but after the first attack, his armor was not even singed. Nails never reacted._ At least he's not going to fight back_, Cherry thought. But it was little consolation.

She hit him with attack after attack, slowly trying to burn her way through the thick armor. Each blast appeared to have little or no effect on Nails, but she kept trying anyway. Even if all she could do was chip away at him, it was better than nothing.

As Cherry continued attacking, Maple edged her way around to stand near Mark. She watched her new little sister, near sick with worry. Cherry's training was very different from what her own had been. It was hard to tell whether Aurum was being kinder or harsher.

"Umm…hi," Maple said, timidly, to Mark. Suddenly, it felt hard to talk to him.

"Hi," Mark nodded, but his attention was fixed on Cherry. He was rubbing his chin and biting his lip, just as nervous as the rest of them.

"Umm…can we…talk, I guess?" she tried, again.

"Can it wait?" he asked.

"Umm…I think so," Maple nodded, though her long ears drooped forward ever so slightly.

Panting from the effort, Cherry finally noticed progress after her tenth spray of Ember. It was impossible to read Nails through the restricting spiked helm around his head, but there was no mistaking the burns that were showing up on his armor. His chest plate was slowly turning black and she had managed to hit a weak spot in his armor, just below the shoulder-joint.

She began to pour more effort into it. There was still hope. She was not so weak that she could not defeat an opponent that did not fight back.

Heedless of the tiny flames of Ember in the air, Aurum began to circle the Charmander-girl and her living dummy target. He inspected Nails' armor as closely as he could. The damage was so slight; it was difficult to tell the difference between attacks. However, Aurum knew his Pokémon better than anyone and Nails was clearly in pain.

"Stop," when it felt like Cherry could not fire another attack, Aurum raised his hand. She sank back onto the ground, winded and exhausted. It had taken twenty-two attacks and nearly fifteen minutes of constantly spraying Ember, but, at last, Nails dropped to one knee and Cherry was the victor.

Aurum bent forward to offer Nails a Hyper Potion. The knight flipped open his visor just enough to drink the blue liquid. Then, without a word, he flipped it shut again and rose back to his full height.

Grinning with relief, the Charmander-girl collapsed onto the ground, laughing and swishing her tail. But then a strange realization came to her. She couldn't explain it, but suddenly something clicked in her mind. She rose to her feet and Aurum backed away, sensing what was coming. The rest of the group stared at her, wondering what she was up to.

Cherry took another deep breath, but this time, instead of blowing flames out of her mouth, a thick, black smoke began to spread in a cloud around them. It spread out to encompass the entire group, with the onlookers shutting their eyes against the thick, stinging smoke. She grinned as she realized that the Smokescreen did not seem to hurt her eyes as it did those around her. She liked this new trick.

But it wasn't the only one she had learned. After the smoke began to dissipate, she drew in another breath and exhaled a stream of strangely colored bright blue flames. Even stranger, the flames did not seem to be emitting any heat. Nevertheless, if she wanted it, the flames of Dragon Rage were hers to use.

Mark walked forward and messed up her hair in his big brother fashion, again. This time, Cherry didn't mind the odd show of affection. She had earned it this time.

"Smokescreen _and_ Dragon Rage," Mark grinned at her, "good job."

"Thanks," she grinned back, but then a sharp pain stabbed at her head, "owowowowowowow!" Cherry clutched her head, dropping down to her knees.

"It's okay, it's okay," Mark bent down and tried to soothe her, "I know what's happening. You're trying to remember too much."

"But why does it _hurt_?" Cherry cried out, gritting her teeth to try and make the pain stop.

"It's okay," Mark continued, "Cherry, listen to me. You need to forget about Growl, you don't need it anymore."

"Okay, okay," she had no idea how it happened, but her head was starting to feel better.

"And…" Mark had to think for a moment, "I want you to forget Dragon Rage. It's not important."

"Really?" Cherry did not want to say goodbye to those pretty blue flames so soon after learning it, but sweet Arceus, her head felt like one of Nails' spikes was jammed inside!

"I'm sure," Mark nodded, "just let it go." Mark wasn't sure. Dragon Rage was an odd attack that always dealt a fixed amount of damage to an opponent. If she were going to fight opponents like Nails, an ability like that might actually help.

"Okay, okay," Cherry nodded and her head began to feel loads better as the knowledge of Dragon Rage felt like it was leaking out of her overstuffed brain. She could breathe easier now that the spike was gone from her head.

_Scratch, Smokescreen, Ember and Dragon Dance_, Mark thought. Four abilities was the limit. Four techniques, whether they were for attack, defense or support, a Pokémon could only safely remember four. It was up to the trainer to decide which ones were the best.

Cherry did not have many strong options, but she was still learning. It would be a long time before she could replace Scratch with the more powerful Slash and Ember became a Flamethrower. Time and training, and they were short on both.

"Move," Aurum told Mark. He said it in a tone that left no room for argument and Mark quickly dashed away.

"It seems your offense is better than I expected," the old man nodded, but Cherry wasn't sure if he was praising her or not, "next is defense." Then, without warning, "Power Whip."

From her spot on the ground, Cherry began to shake so badly that she couldn't move. Nails' vine-extensions spun round and round over his head. Cherry watched them, near mesmerized as the individual vines blended together into a whistling green circle.

_He's going to hit me_, she thought. It was just enough to get her moving, but when the whip came down, she was a moment too late.

There was a loud crack as Cherry felt her tail break. The blow had caught her halfway down the length of her orange-red tail. The lower half of it hung limp and useless behind her, flopping here and there.

She stared at it in horror, not really understanding what had happened. Then the shock wore off and the pain flooded through her.

"_My tail_!" she whimpered, clutching the broken thing. The top half of it throbbed while she could feel nothing at all in the bottom half. Then Maple was with her, holding her close and stroking her hair.

"It hurts! It hurts! _IT HURTS_!" Cherry called out, clutching tightly to Maple's dress while her tail flopped lifelessly onto the grass.

The next thing she knew, cold glass was being pressed against her lips and she was drinking something that tasted awful. Maple was telling her it would be all better soon, all she needed to do was drink the medicine and it would stop. Everything was okay.

An eternity later, she felt the sickening sensation of her tailbones going back together. A pricking touched the scales of her tail as the feeling returned. She flicked the flaming end of it a few times and smiled, giddy with relief.

Mark was sitting next to her, his face as the color of milk. The empty bottle of medicine was in his hand. She realized that he must have snatched it away from Aurum when she fell to the ground.

"I've warned you, before," Aurum stood over the three of them, "if you don't keep up, I will leave you behind," he shook his head before continuing, "but you do have potential. If you can accept the pain, then I will continue to train you."

Cherry looked up at him, past Maple's big eyes, grown wide with worry. Her tail still throbbed, but it was fading quickly. She had never been in so much pain her entire life. What had that accomplished? The old man broke her tail and for what? Just to teach her what pain felt like?

But even still, she felt as though she had been through worse. Heartbreak and solitude weren't physical pain like that was, but they hurt worse. The pain from her broken tail was almost gone and already she couldn't remember what it felt like when it had first hit her. But if she thought about Master Vince, the hole was still there, just as fresh as if he had abandoned her yesterday.

Would that ever go away? The small Charmander-girl had no way of knowing.

She put on a brave face before answering Aurum, her broken tail was nothing compared to the hurt that Master Vince had inflicted.

"Is that the best you can do?" Cherry grinned.

* * *

><p>AN: man, I'm mean…she's only ten…<p>

You gotta love the rapid-leveling, though. I wish I could throw a level 8 against a level 80 that won't fight back. She probably should've gained more levels to be honest. And for those keeping score, that DOES mean that she's passed where she's supposed to evolve into a Charmeleon. Mark just hasn't realized it yet…maybe next time.

Speaking of next time, we are coming up on the one-year anniversary of the start of The Children of Jirachi! (Saturday, the 23rd, to be specific). It's come a VERY long way in that time-span, though I honestly thought it would be further along. At the very least, I expected Round One to be over.

So, I was going to post another Mewtwo chapter, but sadly the story isn't REALLY at a good stopping point to do that. I know I'm teasing you now, but it has to wait until Round One is over.

Incidentally, Round One will be by FAR the longest section of the tournament. The way I have it planned, there's only two days between Round Four and the Finals. They're a hectic two days, but at least there won't be 50 chapters devoted to a single round.

Anyways, back to the subject at hand.

I still want to do something special for the one-year anniversary and I think a small one-shot set a few months before The Children of Jirachi is what we need.

So, I have a few ideas of what I'd like to do, but I also feel like taking requests. Audino is already under consideration, though I think he'll be passing Wish to allies rather than using Fire F-ing Blast…but that's just because I like to stay loyal to my metagaming roots

Pokemon, moves, battle strategies, game mechanics, character types, all of these are up for grabs. I can't promise I can include all requests in one story, but it could be a fun challenge to see just how many I can do…

This could be bad, but you know what? I'm gonna do it, anyway!

So, yeah, that's the longest AN in a while…let me know what you think and I'll get cracking!

Thanks for reading!


	56. Aurum's Ghosts

Chapter 55

_Great_, Sky thought, _just great_…

Ultimately, he probably shouldn't have been surprised that Alex lost Whisper. The guy had been so terrified that he had no idea what to do. Sky should have looked after their prisoner himself.

Whisper's escape, however, did save him the trouble of coming up with a way to contain him. Pokéballs meant nothing when the human Pokémon inside could get out and walk away on their own. And what kind of cell could hold a human Pokémon? The best he could do would be to find somebody that knew Spite and drain all of Whisper's abilities. Maybe when the human Zoroark could do nothing but Struggle he'd behave himself.

Maybe, but Sky didn't want to count on that.

"What time?" Sky asked Coraline, Alex's Banette-girl. Apparently she had woken up when Whisper was escaping. Despite his wounded state he had been able to scare the ghost girl into silence and escape before she regained her wits.

"One-thirty," her voice shook as she said it. Sky also wasn't surprised that she was still recovering from the encounter. Whisper seemed to have that effect on women. Flurry was still mentally shaken from their battle and hadn't left the Pokémon Center because of it. Tempest decided to watch over her and even she wanted to rip Whisper to pieces all over again.

"One-thirty…" Sky reflected on the new information. Seven hours ago. Whisper would be long gone by now.

"We…tried to go after him," Alex sat next to Coraline to offer what comfort he could give her, "but…he was gone already. He couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes."

"Alright…" Sky nodded. That was not good news.

"You don't believe us?" Alex asked, unsatisfied by PureBlueSky's passive attitude. Whisper had attacked Coraline and scared her half to death. He felt useless. They needed to find Whisper and make him pay and Sky didn't sound like he was going to do anything.

"No, I believe you," Sky nodded, thinking. What Alex didn't realize was that his role in this was likely to be over. Whisper had ignored his trainer entirely when the two had fought each other. Alex was just an annoyance to him, nothing of any real value.

No, it was Sky that would be Whisper's newest target. More specifically, it would be Flurry or Tempest that he would go after. It would be Flurry if he wanted to finish what he started. More likely, given his sick attitude, he'd play with her more. And if he wanted revenge, then Tempest was public enemy number one.

But Sky was hardly worried about that possibility. Let him come and Tempest would tear him apart all over again.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Alex asked.

"You do nothing," Sky commanded him, "keep your head down and don't try to chase him. He won't come after you, anymore."

"How do you know that?!" Alex snapped.

"Because he ignored you," Sky had to be patient. Alex was scared, okay, Sky understood that, but he didn't really need to get pissed at him, "he doesn't care about you, he just wants to be free so he can kill again."

"Then we have to stop him!" Alex urged.

"You're not listening to me," Sky sighed, "look, he obviously had help. In the state that he was in, he would not have gotten away from you. A Caterpie could've fallen on his head and he'd be out for hours. That means that somebody found him and hid him. In all likelihood, he has a new trainer. And if he has a new trainer, then he isn't going to give a shit about sad, scared, little Alex anymore."

Alex hung his head. He hated how Sky was talking down to him, like this. Didn't he understand how dangerous Whisper was? Alex had seen him do worse than torture a Glaceon-girl. They would be lucky if that was all he did next time.

"Look," Sky continued, "just leave this to me. I can get my entire team to start searching the island for him. It won't take long and we'll have him back in just a few days."

Sky wanted to believe it would just be a few days, but honestly he had no idea. He knew what a normal Zoroark could do, but what did that Illusion ability become when Whisper turned part human? During the fight, Whisper had first appeared disguised at Alex's Seaking-girl. The transformation had been flawless, excepting that he couldn't use her abilities. But would it be so outlandish to believe that Whisper could change into any human Pokémon? If he could, then his capture just became a hundred times more difficult.

Still, it felt like a necessary lie. Alex was broken up over losing Whisper and Sky needed to keep him from doing something stupid. If he did, Sky couldn't guarantee that he could keep him safe.

"Okay," Alex nodded, "we'll stay out of your way, then. I trust you."

"Good," Sky nodded back. But as he turned to leave, he still wasn't convinced that Alex would do as he said.

* * *

><p>When Lily returned with Eric and their human Pokémon, Cherry was peering closely at a small, blue bracelet.<p>

"What is it?" the Charmander-girl asked Aurum as he stood over her.

"It's called a Power Anklet," the small, old man answered.

"It's heavy…" Cherry said, passing it between her hands.

"It's supposed to be," Aurum explained, "put it on your ankle. It will slow you down, but it will help with your training."

"Speed training?" Mark asked. He had heard about this, but he had never practiced it. Advanced trainers had learned how to train their Pokémon in specific ways. A Pokémon could be trained to be much faster than normal or possess incredible attack strength. It had to be done very carefully and often with young, even newborn Pokémon. But those that put in the effort swore by the results. The technique was known as effort training. And the Power Anklet was created solely for the purpose of effort training in speed.

"I want you to go into the forest," Aurum instructed Cherry, "and fight Aipom. Only Aipom. Most likely, you'll be out there all day, but we cannot continue until you do. Defeat fifty of them and come back."

"_Fifty_?!" Cherry gasped, "how am I supposed to even _find_ fifty Aipom?!"

"Katana will go with you," Aurum nodded impatiently, "and your trainer," he glanced at Mark, scowling as usual, "use Scratch. It will be harder, but it will help."

"Why only Aipom?" Mark asked, curious about the new training method. Most likely this was another reason for the power behind the Four.

"Aipom are quick, agile Pokémon," Aurum explained, "to defeat them, you need to be even quicker."

Mark nodded in agreement. It made sense. And from what he knew about Charmander and its evolutions, Cherry would benefit greatly from this speed training. He wondered if he should be taking notes.

"Okay…I'll do it," Cherry sat down on the grass to put on the anklet. She attached it to her right leg, where it hung loosely around her ankle. After a moment, she decided to move it about halfway up her calf where it fit better, but it still felt loose. For being so small, it weighed a lot. She wasn't really sure what was going on, but for once Mark and Aurum seemed to be in agreement.

"Katana," Aurum called. He handed his human Weavile a few bottles of the blue colored potions as well as a few red ones. The red ones, Mark realized, must have been ethers, for when Cherry became too tired to use Scratch. Fifty Aipom...they would be lucky if they finished before the week was over, let alone a day.

As the three readied themselves for their expedition, Maple glanced back and forth between them and Aurum. He hadn't instructed her to go with them and it felt strange for her to part ways with Mark and Cherry. Maybe Aurum had something else planned for her…

"Alright," Mark nodded to Aurum, "we'll be back." The three disappeared into the woods, off to hunt Aipom.

Once they were gone, Lily was afraid to speak up. The three that remained hadn't noticed their return. Not only that, but Aurum scared her. When Mark had offered to take her and Eric to train with him, she had no idea what to expect. She had heard about him before, but to see him was something else. Aurum was no taller than Lily and she probably weighed at least ten pounds more than him, but he was harsh and mean.

She had been inside the hideout of Team Deus and rescued her kidnapped human Meganium, but even then she had been calmer. But now, Silver wasn't with her. She wanted him and Aroma to be with her. She had Shinobi, but it was Silver she wanted.

"Well, go on," Eric nudged her. The boy next to her was just as scared. With Mark gone, who knew what Aurum was going to do? He had stood up for them before, but now they were all alone.

"Umm…" Lily took a step forward, "are we, I mean, can we…still…umm…" She couldn't be sure that Aurum had heard, but a few moments later, he slowly turned his head to look at her. He adjusted his straw hat a little to block the sun as he evaluated her.

"Yes, I'll still train you," Aurum did not show any emotion in his voice, "as long as you do exactly as I say."

"Oh…uhh…okay," Lily nodded quickly, "uhh…what should we do?"

"You only have a Ninjask?" Aurum asked, nodding towards Shinobi where he knelt behind Lily.

"Well…no…"

"Where are the others?"

"They're, uhh…" Lily did not want to answer and furthermore she didn't even know. Silver and Aroma were off on their own. The two had all but abandoned her after their return from the Team Deus underground. That mission had been the spark that brought the two together. Lily realized that the two of them had probably been in love with each other for a long time, but…

"Then we'll just train this one," Aurum sighed, "I'm not waiting for them."

"Okay," Lily nodded.

"And you…" Aurum turned to Eric, "you're a little young, aren't you?"

"Uh…am I?" Eric was only ten, but this was an odd question for him. It was true that most trainers could not get a Pokémon until they were a few years older, but the age requirement varied from region to region, even city to city. It was not unheard of for trainers to start as early as ten.

"Never mind," Aurum shook his head and dropped the question, "a Swampert and Tropius? Anything else?"

"No, sir," Eric answered. He looked over his shoulder at Tsunami and Fernelia. They both looked strong and proud, ready for anything. It gave him strength to see them like that.

"Alright," Aurum nodded, "let's get started, then." Aurum called over Nails and the human Ferrothorn stomped towards him. Nails had already defeated all of Lily and Eric's human Pokémon single-handedly. He was in a class of his own; training against just him would be difficult enough. However, Aurum drew out two more Pokéballs.

Neither Lily nor Eric had met Billow, the small Drifblim-girl that appeared before them and not even Mark had seen the Jellicent-man. The two ghost-types floated down to the ground, landing gently in front of them. Billow blinked her wide, red eyes at the group of strangers then darted behind the Jellicent-man. The second ghost Pokémon peered down at them, tall and proud.

With no tail and no strange ears, it was difficult to tell that the human Jellicent was in fact part Pokémon. He wore a simple light blue suit with white trim. His coattails floated up and down, even without any wind. He looked to be in his early forties, but it was difficult to tell because his hair was a snowy white. An enormous white mustache hid most of his face so that Lily could only read his expression by looking into his eyes. Much like Aurum, he looked like another crotchety old man, annoyed with the children before him.

Billow was the exact opposite. Lily could see her purple dress and curly white hair on the other side of the Jellicent-man. She poked her head out on occasion, peering around his side or in between his legs before letting out a sharp squeak and hiding again.

"Billow, stop it," the Jellicent-man growled, "You're only embarrassing yourself with these games."

"I'm not playing a game, Mortem!" Billow squeaked indignantly, but then she saw Maple standing off by herself, "Miss Maple!" The tiny girl cried before lifting her feet off the ground and quickly floating to the Leafeon-girl.

"I missed you!" Billow squeaked, hugging her around her waist, though she still floated off of the ground.

"I missed you too…" Maple smiled at the ghost-girl as she nuzzled against her. Her heart felt a little bit lighter at the girl's greeting. So much had happened since she had seen her last. It felt good to see her again.

"Make them go away!" Billow stood up to her full height, which was only chest-level with Maple, and pointed at the group of strangers.

"But…they're here to train with you…" Maple tried to explain.

"I don't want to train with them!" Billow shook her head, "I want to train with you!" Again, Maple felt touched by the girl's innocent sincerity, but she really did need to train with Lily and Eric.

"Billow, enough!" Mortem roared, "You're acting like a child!"

"I AM a child!" Billow screamed back, "I'm only one hundred and twenty-six years old!"

"And what about them?! That Leafeon-girl is probably only two or three!"

That made Billow pause. She slowly turned her head back to look up at Maple. The Leafeon-girl nodded down at her.

"They told me I'm sixteen in human years," Maple explained, "but I'm really only two and a half years old. I'll be three in October."

"Oh…" Billow bit her lip, taking in the new information. Then, suddenly, she backed away from Maple, brushed herself off and tried to look dignified, "then I will do my duty as your senior!" Billow floated away, leaving Maple blinking in confusion.

"A hundred and twenty-six?" Lily asked. She seemed to be the only one who didn't know what they were talking about.

"Human Pokémon age differently than normal Pokémon," Aurum sighed, "most Pokémon age more quickly than humans. But some, like ghost and dragon Pokémon, have their life-spans shortened when they become human," he paused, as if it hurt to continue, "ghost Pokémon in particular have very long lives. Most live for thousands, even millions of years."

"I never even knew ghost Pokémon were, you know, alive…" Lily admitted.

"Of course, we are!" Billow squeaked, "We hatch from eggs just like any other Pokémon! And we die too!"

"Ghost Pokémon…die?" Lily asked. Like most trainers, she knew very little about ghost Pokémon. They were a mystery, even amongst the endless mystery of all other Pokémon. Few could say for certain whether or not ghost Pokémon were even alive. Many believed they were nothing more the ghosts of other Pokémon; an echo of what was.

"I assure you," Aurum sighed even more deeply, he sounded as if his years were catching up with him, "ghost Pokémon die. But they don't leave anything behind. They simply…fade," he closed his eyes, "I've seen it myself."

"Master…" Mortem began, but he had no words to comfort his trainer.

"I've lost many, many friends in my life," Aurum leaned heavily on his fishing pole, "and I can't seem to stop losing them…" The Golden Trainer was no longer speaking to anyone but himself.

"Before we evolved," Mortem explained for him, "Master Aurum specialized in ghost Pokémon. They say it's common amongst elderly trainers."

"I was tired of watching my friends die before me," Aurum continued, "I thought that with ghost Pokémon, I would never have to go through that ever again…" he opened his eyes and looked at Billow and then at Mortem, "I never told you before, but…I'm sorry. I made you give up your lives when you evolved for me."

"_Don't say that_!" Billow suddenly shrieked, "We knew what we were doing! And I don't care if I'm going to fade sooner! Everybody fades eventually! Why can't I decide to be human and fade with everybody else?!" When Billow shed tears, Lily was certain that she was alive.

"She's right, Master," Mortem added, "we chose to evolve and we knew what would happen. It makes no difference to us."

"Very well, then," Aurum nodded solemnly before turning to Eric and Lily, "Fight these three until you can defeat them. Once you do, I have nothing more to pass onto you."

"Okay…" Lily agreed, still shocked by everything she had just heard. It made her all the more grateful when she heard the faint buzzing of Shinobi's wings as he came up next to her.

"Just leave me in peace," Aurum began walking towards the lake, where his folding chair waited for him, "I'm tired…"

No one stopped him as he sat in his chair and cast his line out over the lake.

* * *

><p>AN: I didn't think I'd get a chance to work in EV training, but, well, there it is.<p>

For those unaware, EV training is actually quite a bit more complicated than that. I'd suggest googling "Pokémon EV training" and I'm sure you'll find something that can explain it better than what I can. Be warned though, it's largely for advanced trainers and super-nerds, like myself. It's not for everybody.

See you next time and thanks for reading!


	57. Maple and Suicune

Chapter 56

The normally calm clearing in the center of Palkia's Woods became a chaotic battlefield. Aurum's ghosts shot blasts of dark energy at Lily and Eric's human Pokémon, while Tsunami and Fernelia countered with ice and concentrated sunlight. Shinobi darted here and there amidst the chaos, striking at the two ghosts quickly before vanishing. However, even without Nails, the human Ferrothorn, Billow and Mortem easily held their own. Outnumbered three to two, the ghosts still held their ground against the less experienced human Pokémon.

Off by herself, Maple watched the group. But as the minutes began to drag on, she wondered if there was anything else she should be doing. She was the only one left after Aurum had given orders to all of his students. The only one whom Aurum had forgotten about.

She looked over at the old man sitting in his folding chair. Despite all of the noise just behind him, it was hard to tell if he was awake. His head was slumped forward and his straw hat covered most of his face. The end of his line bobbed lazily up and down, though Maple had never seen him catch anything.

Should she ask him what to do? She didn't want to disturb him, especially after what had just happened. Aurum was always strong around her. He was usually grouchy, but he could also be kind and wise. But until today Aurum had never sounded so…old.

But what could she do? The fight she was watching was for Lily, Eric and their human Pokémon. If she got involved, then it wouldn't really help them.

Could she go after Mark and Cherry? Somewhere in those woods, Cherry was chasing after Aipom with Mark and Katana looking after her. Surely they wouldn't mind if Maple tagged along, right?

Maple fidgeted in place as she debated what to do. Their last visit to Aurum had been all but dedicated to her own training. Now half of Aurum's team had become committed to training Lily and Eric. Not only that, but Maple's sparring partner was guiding Cherry with Mark. Maple was the only one left out.

Finally, she mustered her courage and shuffled over to Aurum. She came up from behind him, still too nervous to disturb him. When she was about three feet away, Aurum still had not taken notice and she began to circle around to the front, hoping he wasn't really asleep. She was just a few inches away from the fishing pole when Aurum opened one eye and peered at her, half scowling.

"What is it?" he asked. His voice was groggy and annoyed. He had been very clear that he didn't want to be disturbed.

"Umm…" Maple realized this was a bad idea, "well…are you going to…" she wanted desperately for Aurum to finish for her, but she had no choice, "is there anything I can do?" It was close to what she wanted to ask.

"You're asking me to train you?" Aurum opened his other eye.

"Umm…yes?"

"No," Aurum closed both of his eyes, again.

"Umm…" Aurum had confirmed her fear, but hearing it hurt more than what she expected, "why not?"

"I can't," Aurum shook his head, "your fighting style most closely matches Katana. Without her, I can't train you."

"Oh…"

"And you're already becoming much stronger," Aurum added, "There's little that I can teach you that you won't learn on your own. It's best to find your own way now."

"But," Maple was confused, "earlier you said that we need to train every day…"

"True," Aurum nodded, "but it's your trainer that needs to learn that discipline. Your training is as much his responsibility as it is yours."

"Oh…" Maple looked at the ground, "so…what should I do?"

"That's your own decision," Aurum answered, "go find him, or not. It doesn't matter to me. You're a human Pokémon. You can make your own decisions."

"Okay…" even more lost than before, Maple left Aurum to his fishing. She supposed that what he told her was true. She had learned a lot from Katana and she really was stronger. She didn't feel much stronger, but she did manage to beat Nails, with Mark's help, that was. Maybe Aurum really couldn't teach her anything else.

Well, it did answer one question for her. There was no point in staying where she was. Whether Aurum really couldn't train or he just didn't want to, staying there was a waste of time. The only thing to do was to go and find Mark.

She was glad for that, though. After battling Nails, she had realized something very important. Well, it was something she knew already, but putting it into words seemed to change everything.

Did Mark feel the same? He had never said so, but he was always nice to her. Maybe he did. After all, they had spent a lot of time alone with each other before.

But…that was before. They weren't alone anymore. Now there was Cherry and Lily and Eric.

Had he forgotten about her? No, that couldn't be. Even if she wasn't the center of his attention, he couldn't have just forgotten about her. He had even promised to teach her and Cherry how to read. But when would they have time for that? There was Team Deus and the tournament to worry about. Maybe after that was over, they would have time. Then they could learn to read and be happy together. Maybe…

Still confused, Maple began to wander into Palkia's Woods. But she had no idea where she was going.

* * *

><p>"This little brat yours, too?" Whisper smirked down at the blond boy sleeping on the floor of Cal's office. With the surface no longer safe, Cal had decided to hide Lionel in the Team Deus underground. Farin no longer gave a damn what happened to the kid, but Cal was holding out hope that he could prove useful.<p>

"You could say that," Cal confirmed. He began prodding the boy with the tip of his shoe, "up, Lionel. I've been up all night and you don't see me complaining."

Groaning, the blond boy sat up and blinked. He began to stretch, but Whisper interrupted him by grasping his collar and lifting him into the air. Lionel began to shake as he looked at Whisper's murderous eyes.

"Put him down," Cal commanded, though he was very pleased to see Lionel wide awake, now.

"Lionel, Whisper. Whisper, Lionel," he introduced the two once Lionel was on his feet, "shake." Cal would not have been entirely upset if Whisper broke Lionel's hand, but part of him was also glad that he didn't. He might need that hand someday.

"So, who's really in charge around here?" Whisper disregarded the boy and looked straight at Cal, "you're not the type to be in charge of something like this."

"Is that so?" Cal challenged, but after a moment he continued, "as far as you're concerned, I am in charge around here. I'm the highest-ranking member who still knows what this organization really is."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that we're going to dethrone the man who is in charge," Cal smiled.

"Mutiny, is it?" Whisper grinned, "I didn't realize I was being recruited for a job like that."

"Is that a problem?" Cal asked.

"No," Whisper shook his head, "I've followed cowards for long enough. Just tell me who to kill and I'll take care of it."

"We're not really going to kill Farin are we?" Lionel asked. The boy's eyes were wide with fear. Of course they were; Cal would have been stupid to expect anything else.

"No, we're not," he shook his head and Lionel let out a sigh of relief. Cal wanted to kill him. The man had been stupid enough to let somebody get inside the base just to show off some pets. He claimed he was after bigger prey, but if he wanted one of the Four, he shouldn't mess with small game. It was a waste of time and energy that put Team Deus at great risk. If those damned kids had gone down to the basement…

But Cal remembered his roots better than Farin did. Farin wanted glory, but there was no such thing for Team Deus. Not now, not ever. They needed new management. Someone with a cool head and his feet planted on the ground.

"If you're not going to kill him, then why am I here?" Whisper put in. Back in top form, the human Zoroark wanted to test it out. Cal had promised him the right to kill and now was the time to deliver.

"Why, I'm glad you asked, Whisper," Cal grinned, "because Farin made a very grave mistake letting those kids in here. You see, there's somebody up there who knows my face. Nobody can know my face." He gritted his teeth.

"That's Phase One of our little movement," Cal straightened, "you're going back up to the surface to take care of a few loose ends. Both of you."

"Me?" Lionel asked, appalled by the notion of returning to the surface, where he was a hated fugitive.

"Don't be stupid," Whisper scoffed, "the kid'll just get in my way."

"I assure you, it will take both of you to get the job done," Cal told them, "both of you will be hunted once you're on the surface. Learn to work together or both of you will fail."

The human Zoroark and the blond boy looked at each other. Neither one of them had expected this and neither one of them wanted a partner. But Cal was out of options. If this was not dealt with quickly and quietly then there was no telling how long it would be before too many people knew his face. His identity was precious to him, but it was his alone. Cal wasn't even his true name.

"Her name is Aroma. The last time she saw me I caught her and brought her here. This time, I want you to kill her."

* * *

><p>It was a long time before Maple stopped to check her surroundings. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized what direction she was walking in. The trees were growing closer together and there was no noticeable path. Even the wild Pokémon were different. At some point, Rattata had become Bidoof and Wurmple became Sewaddle.<p>

When she looked up, Mount Totetsu was enormous. Just a few more lines of trees and she would be standing on it. Somehow she had wandered to the opposite side of Palka's Woods and farther away from Mark and Cherry.

She shook her head. That couldn't have happened. She hadn't been walking long enough to reach the mountain. It was miles and miles away from the city, she couldn't have walked that far. But the sun looked much higher in the sky than before. The shadows were short, as well. She thought it had only been twenty minutes, but somehow several hours were gone. The morning was already over.

Maple sighed to herself. As she did so, the shadows got longer again. She looked up sharply and saw that the sun had lowered again. But it had gone the wrong way. It went east instead of west, back the way it had come up. How could that happen?

"Don't wander too close to it," a strange, yet calm voice sounded from behind Maple. The Leafeon-girl turned to see a figure, straight and tall emerging through the trees. She recognized it at once as Suicune, despite its human form.

"S-Suicune?" Maple asked, her eyes widening in wonder, "you, you mean, you can…?"

"Do you not trust your instincts?" Suicune asked, stepping closer. It extended a slim, pale hand, "come with me. Mount Dialga is not safe for someone like you. Years could disappear in the blink of an eye."

"O-okay," Maple nodded, taking the delicate hand. Suicune led her away, back into the woods and away from the looming mountain. She glanced back at the sun and watched it shift back to noon, hoping that it wasn't a different day.

"Here," Suicune stopped and let Maple's hand fall, "this should be safe enough."

"Umm…thank you," Maple said, grateful for the help. She felt incredibly nervous just to be in the presence of the legendary Pokémon. Even amongst Pokémon, few could say they were sure if legendary Pokémon really existed. However revered they were, legendary Pokémon were little more than stories passed down through generations. Maple had dreamed of meeting them when she was younger, but for it to be a reality...

"What are you doing here?" Suicune asked, peering down at the girl.

"Well…I got lost…" it wasn't a complete lie, but Maple could not meet Suicune's gaze. Its violet eyes studied the girl; they even seemed to be looking inside of her.

"You're much stronger than when I saw you last," Suicune observed, "that's good."

"Oh, thank you," Maple nodded, bowing her head before the living legend.

"Still…" Suicune sighed, but it did not continue.

"What's wrong?" Maple asked, she lifted her eyes, but still bowed her head.

"It's not your concern," Suicune said quickly, "it's a Pokémon matter, not a human one."

Maple recoiled at the remark. A Pokémon matter? Maple was a Pokémon. But the words were so cold. Was Suicune like the rest of the Pokémon? Always hateful and mistrustful of human Pokémon. No, no a legendary couldn't think like that. If it did, then Maple was terrified that it could be the truth.

"But I am a Pokémon…" she meant to say it more forcefully, but it came out as a timid squeak, almost a whine. She felt like a helpless child in Suicune's presence. She hadn't been able to sense the gap in strength between herself and Katana, but she could feel it now. With all of her training, Maple still felt like a weakling in Suicune's presence.

Suicune's expression softened as it looked at her. It wanted to tell her something, something that it shouldn't.

"No," Suicune shook its head, "you are a daughter of Jirachi, born of a wish."

"Daughter of…Jirachi?" Maple asked, "Then, it's true! The-the legend is all true!" Her eyes grew wide with excitement and she wagged her tail happily.

"It is," Suicune confirmed, smiling at her.

Maple cheered and spun in place. She was so happy, she wanted to hug Suicune, despite how disrespectful it would be. She hadn't been so happy in days. Not since she and Mark had…she stopped spinning.

"Yes," Suicune nodded, "Jirachi sleeps within the mountain and grants all Pokémon the power to grant their wish," it paused, puzzled by Maple's reaction, "did Mark tell you none of this?"

"Uhh…" Maple stared at Suicune, equally puzzled, "you…talked to Mark?"

"Yes," Suicune confirmed, "he has a very important part to play here. It is my duty to guide him to that point. So that he may do what I cannot," once again it watched Maple's expression change, "I had assumed he would tell you."

"No…" Maple shook her head, her smile fading, "he didn't…"

"Strange…" Suicune declared, "I suppose I'll never understand why humans keep secrets from each other."

"Yeah…" Maple agreed, cupping her hands together in front of her.

"Well, it makes no difference," Suicune sighed, "grow strong, Maple. Your task will be just as important as Mark's. Farewell."

Without saying anything more, Suicune turned and shifted back into its Pokémon form. It bounded away, leaving Maple staring after it. But her mind was no longer on Suicune or on the mission it spoke of. Only one thought repeated itself in her mind.

_Why didn't he tell me?_

* * *

><p>AN: not too much to say with this one. It's a little short, but I'm pretty sure I've done worse.<p>

So…yeah, I guess that's it…

Be sure to talk to your girlfriend, guys. And girls, talk to your boyfriend. Or, guys, talk to your boyfriend and girls talk to your girlfriend. Something like that. You get the idea.

COMMUNICATION, PEOPLE!

Anyways, thanks for reading!


	58. Twenty Four Aipom

Chapter 57

With a dull thud, the unconscious body of an Aipom landed at Mark's feet. It was followed by Cherry, landing lightly behind it. She grinned proudly up at her trainer like a cat showing off its latest kill to its master. But after a few more seconds, the Aipom blinked awake and scampered back into the woods.

"How many was that?" Mark asked. Cherry had been chasing Aipom for three hours, but their progress felt slow.

"Fourteen," Cherry panted, examining her newest scrapes and bruises. Her dress was streaked and spotted with dirt, as well as a large number of minor cuts, though none were bleeding. Her bright red hair had quite a few twigs tangled in it as well, but she didn't mind.

Chasing Aipom was actually very exhilarating for her. They were quick little imps, more apt to run than to try and fight the Charmander-girl. Not that she could blame them; they didn't stand a chance against her in a straightforward battle. Even though she was still very inexperienced, she was at least thrice as powerful. So far, Cherry only needed to use a single potion to recover from the damage they had done.

Battling them was simple enough, but finding and catching them was another matter. The Power Anklet that Aurum had given her slowed her down considerably. The first three or four Aipom had been the worst. But as she caught more and more the anklet began to weigh her down less and less.

"Guess you're getting quicker," Mark complimented Cherry. The little Charmander-girl grinned happily, swishing her flaming tail.

"Two more about a hundred yards to the left," Katana spoke up, gesturing towards the sounds of more Aipom. She had been sent with them to scout and Mark was extremely grateful for it. Even for a human Pokémon, the young Weavile-woman had amazing hearing. Without her, Cherry more than likely would have only caught half of the number of Aipom that she had.

Cherry was off like a shot, grinning maniacally as she darted through the trees after her quarry.

Mark watched her go, wondering about her progress. Aurum's speed training called for fifty defeated Aipom. They were almost a third of the way done, which was remarkable considering how rare Aipom were. At their current rate, Cherry would be finished before the day was over. If he understood effort training correctly, that would mean that Cherry would have been successfully trained to be as fast as she could possibly be. After that, Mark wasn't sure what Aurum would recommend. Charmander used a wide variety of attacks and a Pokémon's defense was always important, but which would he favor?

Ultimately, the decision fell to Mark to make the choice about how to raise Cherry. Shinobi was his greatest concern. Lily's human Ninjask was fast and a strong attacker, but like most Ninjask, he was a little short on defense. Perhaps the best way to beat him would be for Cherry to exploit that weakness.

But something else bothered Mark. Before they had started chasing Aipom, Cherry had already grown much stronger from fighting Nails. Strong enough for her to learn Smokescreen and Dragon Rage. Ten more Aipom had given her the chance to learn Scary Face, but Mark had her immediately discard the ability. There were more important things for a Charmander to do in battle than use Scary Face.

With all of that experience, shouldn't she have evolved by now? Granted, she was becoming stronger all the time, but to the best of Mark's memory, she should have changed into a Charmeleon. Sadly, there hadn't been the slightest hint of it. It was starting to look as though human Pokémon couldn't evolve a second time.

Maybe he was asking for too much, but Cherry's potential would be very limited if she couldn't evolve. Charmander wasn't necessarily a bad Pokémon, but there was no denying that Charmeleon and Charizard were stronger.

Mark closed his eyes to push the thought away. Cherry had plenty of time to grow stronger. Maybe there were more rules for human Pokémon than what he knew about. One thing he knew for certain, though. He wasn't going to tell Cherry about his suspicions.

The two of them had already become much closer since Cherry's training began. All of the fear and anger that had been bottled up inside of her was being released. Before, she had shown little affection towards anyone and even readily fought with Mark. But after just a few hours of training, she was smiling more and was proud to show off her new strength.

Mark started to feel more comfortable with her, as well. He still didn't know whether he was an older brother, a father, or whatever to Cherry, but at least he could be her trainer. That much he knew how to do.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Cherry shouted angrily, the leaves rustling as she chased after Aipom number sixteen. Mark raced after her, Katana close behind.

* * *

><p>Cherry fought to keep this one in sight. She passed one or two more, but after this one had the nerve to daze her with Fake Out, its fate was sealed. The damned thing was quicker than the others, swinging through the trees on not one, but two tails.<p>

Wait…two tails? Dammit, it was an Ambipom.

But it was too late for Cherry to second-guess herself. The slippery bastard had pissed her off and now she wanted to rip its head off. She wouldn't, but, Aurum didn't say anything about making sure the Aipom lived…

That made her smirk to herself again, but damn he was quick. With the weight of the Power Anklet slowing her down, Cherry could barely keep up with him. She swung from tree to tree, never stopping and never looking down. The monkey could corner better than her, though. It used one of its tails as an anchor as it arced around the outside of its tree. Cherry could do something similar, raking the tree with her claws in the process, but the maneuver inevitably lengthened the Ambipom's lead by an extra yard or two as she struggled to regain her balance.

She didn't know how long she chased him. They were going deeper into the woods, towards Arceus knew what. If Aurum had said she could use Ember, she would've had the little jerk by now.

But then she remembered something else.

Grinning even wider, she performed the tight spiral of Dragon Dance in mid-air. It wasn't long before the distance between herself and the Ambipom started to close. She almost had it.

It looked back only once, squeaking in alarm to see the Charmander-girl just two branches behind her.

"GOTCHA!" Cherry shouted in delight, vaulting forward and tackling the thing. The two tumbled to the ground, landing with a crash onto the forest floor twenty feet below. The girl landed on top of the Pokémon, which squirmed out from underneath her, still trying to escape. Cherry flexed her hand, transforming her fingers into razor-sharp claws. She raked a Scratch across the side of the Ambipom, making it flip end over end into the air. It landed on the ground with a dismayed squeak before falling unconscious.

"SIXTEEN!" Cherry screamed at it, grinning from ear to ear. She panted wildly, but as a fire-type she never needed to sweat. She had never been so proud of herself.

When she looked up, she realized that they were not alone.

The thicket they had crashed into was ringed with Aipom. She counted nine, but more kept appearing. Another two Ambipom were among them, stepping forward to shield the smaller Aipom.

She had crashed into a nest. A whole nest of Aipom! She could double her catch right here and now. If they fought, the odds would be stacked against her, even with her human form.

But there was no question of that when they all started hissing and jeering at her. Always such hatred, such mistrust of the part human Pokémon. Even on an island like this one where the human Pokémon were everywhere.

Well, no matter. Cherry wouldn't have time to chase them down one by one, anyway.

"Well, come on, then!" she shouted at the Aipom around her. They let out a screeching battle cry and began to race towards her. Cherry lifted her head and sprayed a Smokescreen, covering the clearing before she set to work.

* * *

><p>The lonely silence of Palkia's Woods was suddenly shattered when Maple caught the sound of an enormous fight. Just a few hundred yards off to her right, she could hear the screeching Aipom and…whose voice was that? She strained her ears and recognized Cherry, swearing and crying out in pain.<p>

Maple dashed off towards the fighting, forgetting her own worries. She bounded through the woods, ignoring the sneers and frightened squeaks from the forest Pokémon as she ran. Her little sister was in trouble.

She burst through a make-shift wall of dried and broken twigs to see Cherry surrounded by Aipom. There were five around her, swiping at her and waving their tails as they taunted her, dividing her attention. Nine more lay unconscious around the thicket, but the Charmander-girl was running out of energy. Her cheek was bleeding and she was out of breath, moving much too slowly.

One leapt at her, trying to reach her face, but Cherry batted it away with a Scratch. The next one was quicker, however, and three small cuts appeared across Cherry's forehead, trickling blood down her face.

But then Maple was next to her, scattering the monkeys with a few swipes of her tail turned into a Leaf Blade. The Aipom fought to the very last, bravely facing the two girls, though there were only two left standing. They came at Maple at the same time, but Maple sent a single Leaf Blade through both of them, defeating the last of the clan.

One by one, the Aipom and Ambipom began to rise back to their feet. Cursing in their squeaky language, they gathered together to search for a new nesting ground. As they fled, Cherry slumped down onto the ground.

"Cherry! Cherry!" Maple lifted the girl's face, checking her wounds, "how do you feel? Can you hear me?"

"Assholes," Cherry muttered. She spat blood onto the ground next to her, "thank you, Maple."

"Where's Mark?" Maple asked, checking the area, but their trainer was nowhere in sight.

Cherry shook her head, flopping back and forth. She wiped the blood off of her forehead to keep it from trickling into her eyes.

"Okay, come on," Maple bent down to lift Cherry off the ground. The girl was surprisingly light and Maple could carry her easily, supporting her around her shoulders and knees, while her bleeding head rested against Maple's shoulder. "Let's go find him," Maple soothed the girl as she closed her eyes to sleep against her.

She didn't have to walk far before Mark and Katana were racing up to meet her. Gently, she set Cherry on the ground and Katana lifted a potion to the girl's lips.

Maple bit her lip as she looked over at Mark, "hi," she called nervously.

"Hi," Mark returned with a quick nod, but his attention was focused on Cherry.

Once the potion bottle was empty, the scratches on her face closed up and she blinked awake.

"Twenty-four," she grinned at Mark, "and three Ambipom."

"Good job," Mark grinned as he knelt beside her and smoothed out her red hair, "how 'bout we take a break?"

"Okay," Cherry smiled weakly, "I'm kinda sleepy, now."

"Take a nap, then," Mark nodded, "we have plenty of time."

"Good…" Cherry closed her eyes and tucked her tail behind her legs.

"Where are we?" Mark asked Katana, staring around the woods. He recognized none of it.

"I'm not sure," Katana admitted, "normally the forest doesn't let anyone in this far."

"You mean…you haven't seen the whole thing?" Mark had assumed she had. Palkia's Woods was quite the anomaly. It seemed to go on forever, though it couldn't have been more than a dozen miles across. Most places had just a few types of Pokémon dominating the entire area, but within Palkia's Woods the main groups were not clearly defined. It was rare to see Rattata and Bidoof wandering the same area. Was there really enough room for both?

Still, Aurum and his human Pokémon spent most of their time here. If they didn't know where Palkia's Woods ended, who did?

"EdgeoftheEarth says he knows a path to get to the mountain," Katana shrugged, "but he was most likely looking for just that, at the time."

"I don't understand," Mark shook his head.

"If you're seeking something specific, Palkia's Woods will show it to you," Katana explained, "that is, if it finds you worthy. Most often, we'll find one or two areas, but not how they connect to each other."

"So…how do we get back to Aurum?" Mark asked, "Just wish for it?"

"Something like that," Katana nodded, "Palkia's Woods doesn't necessarily have a beginning and end."

"Hmm…" Mark thought about that. Palkia controlled space. If it was influencing the woods, then perhaps it wasn't outrageous to say that it controlled where intruders could and could not go. But at the same time, the woods could cover a small area, but still seem infinite. Palkia's Woods. Every time Mark thought about it, it made his mind run circles around itself.

"Well, anyway," Mark dismissed the idea and tried to move on, "could you go tell Aurum how we're doing?"

"Certainly," Katana nodded, before vanishing into the trees.

When she had gone, Maple realized that she was alone with Mark.

He bent back down to look at Cherry. The girl had been through a lot in her short life, but he was grateful that she was starting to feel happy again.

"Umm…Mark?" Maple's nervous voice made him look up, "can I…can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, what is it?" he asked.

"Well…I saw Suicune," she bit her lip, trying to think of the words she needed to say what worried her.

"You did?!" Mark was on his feet at once, "what did it say? Did it tell you anything about what it wants? Did it say anything about that weird gold ring?"

"Well, uhh…" Maple took an involuntary step back. She hadn't thought to ask Suicune any questions. The gold ring? He must've meant the cloud over top of Mount Totetsu two nights ago. She hadn't even thought that had anything to do with Suicune…

"Well, no…" she had to admit. Everything about her meeting with Suicune was already a vague memory. How could she be so stupid? Of course Mark would want to know that if they met Suicune again! They had missed a big opportunity…she felt awful.

"Okay…" Mark nodded, "so, what _did_ it say?"

"It just…" why was it so hard to say anything? "It told me about Jirachi…"

"Alright…" Mark nodded again and waited for her to continue.

"Umm…Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell me about Suicune?"

Mark couldn't believe the look of hurt in her eyes.

"Why…?" Mark searched himself for an answer. Why hadn't he? It was important, crucial even. Suicune had told him the origin of all human Pokémon. And he didn't tell Maple any of it?

"I…" he rubbed his chin as he thought, "I guess, I just…got distracted," it was the only answer that made sense, "there was a lot happening, right then. You were training, we were…separated and the first match was coming up. Team Deus happened and…"

"Okay," Maple nodded, "I thought so…"

"I'm sorry, Maple," Mark apologized, "I know it meant a lot to you to know about the legend."

"It's okay," Maple shrugged, "I mean…I know now, right? That's…what's important."

"You're not mad, are you?" Mark asked tentatively.

"No," Maple smiled as she shook her head, "no, I'm okay."

"Okay, good," Mark smiled back, "we have a lot of work to do. And not a lot of time to do it in."

"Oh, right…" Maple nodded, "the fight with Lily…"

"Right," Mark continued, "Today's the last day for Round One. That means there's only three more days until we fight Lily."

"Three days…"

"Right, not a lot of time," he shrugged, "but we can do it, I'm sure. If we can just get Cherry to be a bit stronger, she'll be a huge help…"

"Right…"

Maple let him go on, but something felt unfinished. Something she had expected to happen, but it hadn't. And now the moment was gone, the pain forgotten as quickly as it had come. What was missing? What had she wanted? Then she remembered.

Before Lily and Eric, before Cherry, before Team Deus, before Lionel, they had held hands and hugged each other. But it hadn't happened again, since.

Mark had apologized, but he didn't want to touch her.

* * *

><p>AN: the more I write about Palkia's Woods, the more I like it. In fact, I want to tell you a quick little side note that most likely won't come up in the main story. Remember how Maple ended up at Mount Dialga for no apparent reason last chapter? Well, she's been thinking an awful lot about how things used to be between her and Mark. Could one say that the woods sent her to the one place where she might be able to turn back time? ;)<p>

Thanks much for reading!


	59. Where the Spotlight Shines

Chapter 58

Volt's second opponent was large enough to block out the sun. He towered over the Raichu-boy at nearly seven feet tall. The massive human Aggron was covered in what looked at first glance to be Kevlar body armor. But the armor itself was rock-hard, just like the steel helmet atop his head and his thick tail behind him. The giant peered down at Volt with vicious contempt.

"Ah…thank you," Volt sighed with relief, "that damned sun was really starting to bother me." He smiled within the Aggron-man's shadow.

A splash of blood was slowly drying on the side of his face. The last one had been lucky enough to injure him before Volt sent him crying back into his Pokéball. Well, unconscious in a pool of his own blood, but close enough.

"Alright, Granite," the Aggron-man's trainer called, "you can do this!"

Volt doubted that. Aggron was a pretty impressive Pokémon to look at it, but it had far too many flaws to make it a dangerous opponent. If it were a ground-type then maybe Volt would have some issues with it, but its rock and steel typing did not block or even weaken Volt's Thunderbolts. Worse still, Aggron wasn't exactly lightning-quick, and Volt was. He'd be able to dance circles around Granite. It would all be a matter of avoiding its attacks and striking back whenever he had an opening.

"Hit it with an Iron Tail!"

There was plenty of time for Volt to strike before Granite did, but instead he focused on avoiding the first attack. If he started by attacking he would still be well within range of the giant. Granite took one massive step backwards to turn sideways towards the Raichu-boy. The massive Aggron-man did not look quick, but as he pivoted, his tail swung with shocking speed and power.

Volt somersaulted backwards, as the human Aggron's Iron Tail swished through the air beneath him. One-handed, he caught himself and pushed against the ground as he flipped backwards a second time. By then the Aggron was charging after him.

_Alright, that looks good_, the Raichu-boy thought. Even before Kim gave him the order, he began charging electricity for his Thunderbolt. Truth be told, he didn't need her for an opponent like this Aggron. It was slow and clumsy and its Iron Tail was even slower and clumsier. After one attack, he knew why Granite's trainer had lost in Round One.

Still, like all Pokémon, human or not, he was stronger with his trainer behind him. A Pokémon never fought alone on a battlefield.

Kim shouted her order as Volt fired the stream of lightning at his charging opponent. Granite closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and shuddered as he was electrocuted. But even through all of the damage being inflicted on him, he kept charging at Volt.

"Heavy Slam!" his trainer called.

In a moment, Volt's confidence shattered into self-doubt. Granite charged through his Thunderbolt without even stopping. The giant was stampeding at him with all of the force of a freight train, his massive legs shaking the ground as he ran. He put his shoulder out, meaning to slam all of his weight directly into Volt's much lighter frame.

"Brick Break," came Kim's command.

There was no time for another Thunderbolt, but it wasn't Volt's only weapon against his opponents. Brick Break was an ability perfected by fighting type Pokémon. And fighting type Pokémon were famous for their ability to break straight through any type of ice, rock or steel Pokémon. If Volt was going to break bricks, the ones covering the Aggron were as good a target as any.

Volt stared down the growing giant. He needed his timing to be perfect. If he was off by a millisecond Granite would crash into him, whether his attack worked or not. But he would never dodge in time. Volt had no desire to be crushed underneath an opponent that he had beaten.

At the last possible instant, he leapt into the air. He was just high enough to reach the steel helmet, which he now saw was a white, reptilian skull, around Granite's head. Granite's shoulder rammed into the lower half of Volt's body, but only after he brought his hand down in a swift chop. The concentrated Brick Break cracked the helmet apart, scattering shards everywhere. But more importantly, the force went out of Granite's attack. The well-placed blow immediately dazed him and a moment later, he fell unconscious entirely. His heavy, massive body crashed onto the pavement as Volt tumbled over top of him.

Bruised and winded, it took a long time for Volt to rise to his feet. However, Granite did not do the same.

"Tell me it's over," Volt groaned to the opposing trainer. But he didn't even need to ask; the teenage boy's mouth hung open as he gaped at his fallen giant.

After Granite was back in his Pokéball, Kim strode forward.

"Let's see…" Kim started, her voice all business, "I believe our wager was…five-hundred Pokédollars?"

"Yeah, I know," the boy groaned, "you're a helluva lot tougher than you look, you know. I mean, most girls suck at battling."

"Thank you," Kim grinned, letting the boy's sexist comment slide. But after a moment, the boy stopped counting his money.

"Wait a second…" he pointed, "I know you…" he didn't finish, but his brow furrowed as he tried to remember something.

"Well, I fought in the last tournament," Kim offered, "before it went on hiatus. I made it to-"

"No, that's not it…" the boy cut her off, "you look familiar, too…" he pointed to Volt, but he was far too tired to respond. Whatever he was trying to think of, Volt didn't care if he remembered or if he gave himself a migraine in the attempt.

"That's it!" The boy shouted at his revelation, "You're Sprinkle's trainer, aren't you?"

"What?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded vigorously, "you were the one that flipped out on everybody at the beach last night!" Kim did not appreciate how amused he was. In all likelihood, this kid was one of the people she was yelling at.

"Uhh…" Kim struggled to think of a way to shut the boy up. But if she was building a reputation as "the girl that flipped out" then her usual strategies were limited.

"Oh, God, that was _hilarious_!" the boy began laughing, but Kim and Volt did not join him, "what was it you said? 'Go away you damned perverts?' Was that it? _Classic_!"

Kim was just about ready to start screaming all over again. In truth, she didn't remember what she said, only how goddamned furious she'd been. She had forgotten how much she hated the attention that Sprinkle drew to herself. Sometimes she wanted the Vaporeon-girl to be more like Cotton and hide inside her Pokéball.

"Anyway," Volt interrupted the boy's second-hand torture, "you were paying us." He certainly didn't want all of his pain to be for nothing.

"Oh, yeah," the boy began counting his bills again, but he stopped before much longer, "say, do you have Sprinkle with you?"

"What?" Kim asked. _Oh, hell…_ was what she thought.

She did have Sprinkle with her, safe inside her Pokéball, for once. But she began to debate whether or not to lie to the boy. She wasn't here to watch perverts and lechers crowd around Sprinkle, she wanted to _train_. She wouldn't need it for the match, but after she saw Volt get beaten and tossed aside by Team Deus, she realized she needed him to be stronger. She needed _all_ of them to be stronger.

Kim's match was the last in Round One. She only had one more hour to train before she had to get ready. A trip to the Pokémon Center would eat up enough time as it was. There was no time to talk to perverts and pretend they were her friends.

"I just want to get her autograph real quick," the boy tried to sound calm, but Kim knew the look in his eyes, "I swear, it won't take long."

"Keep the money," Kim groaned, turning away from the boy. She couldn't stand looking at him anymore. She walked off, struggling to keep the anger inside.

This was always how it went. Nobody ever recognized her, they only knew Sprinkle. She wanted to say that she didn't understand it, but she did.

Sprinkle was hot. What other explanation was needed?

Sprinkle was hot and Kim was a mediocre trainer who had lost in Round Two three years ago. She hadn't even been given a shot against one of the Four.

Sprinkle was hot and Kim was her bitchy trainer that told the perverts that she was closed for business. Sprinkle would fawn over them and drink up all their praise while Kim sat at the edges, scowling at them.

And of course, Sprinkle was just hot.

Sometimes she wanted to blame Sprinkle for it. Not just for being hot but for welcoming the flood of attention. But Kim knew why she did it. It was all for Kim. Her own, however misguided, way to draw Kim out of her shell. To help her love again…

"Here," Volt suddenly appeared behind her, "I got the money." He waved the bills in front of her, but Kim only glanced at them, "what's wrong?" he asked, as if he didn't know.

"Take a guess," Kim snapped at him.

"Fine, be that way," Volt waved her off and began stuffing the money into his own pockets.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, vaguely walking towards the Pokémon Center, but Kim didn't care where they ended up.

"I'm not always a bitch," Kim said suddenly. She had no idea why.

"I know," Volt nodded.

"So why does everybody seem to think I am?" she didn't ask Volt. She asked the world.

"Uhh…" there was no way for Volt to give her a good answer, "well, I-"

"Don't answer that," she cut him off, keeping him from saying "I don't think you're a bitch." It was stupid and selfish, but somehow she didn't care if Volt didn't think she was. Of course he didn't, he never did. He was a good friend, but somehow Kim knew she wanted more, right then.

Besides, would he have meant it anyway? He wanted to comfort her and he had seen her at her best and at her worst. But Volt was the kind of friend that would lie to protect her. She didn't want a friend like that. Not right then.

But that just made her more confused. What _did_ she want? Somebody to scream in her face and tell her she was a horrible, selfish, broken, lonely person that didn't deserve to live? But if she was all that, then at least she wasn't a bitch. Silver linings, right?

"I hate my life, sometimes," Kim muttered. Volt heard her, but he didn't know how to answer.

She had a tournament fight in two hours and everybody in the stands was going to cheer for Sprinkle instead of her. Kim was her trainer and her best friend, but nobody would know. Nobody would give it a second thought. Once, just once, she wanted them to cheer for her and only her.

She was going to be alone, again.

"How much time do we have?" Volt asked her, trying to change the subject.

"Two hours until it starts," Kim said automatically.

"Time enough for a phone call or two?"

"Huh?" Kim stopped and looked at her human Raichu.

"I'm sure they'll come, if you ask them," Volt shrugged, "I mean, it's better than fighting in front of a bunch of people we don't know."

"They know us, but we don't know them," Kim sighed as she removed her phone. What was the harm in trying? It was either this or fight alone and she was sick of that.

* * *

><p>Cherry had just finished off Aipom number forty-six when Mark's phone started ringing. The noise made what would have been numbers forty-seven and forty-eight run for cover. Mark had even forgotten that he had it.<p>

"Hey, noob," Kim's voice was faint on the other end. Mark put a finger in his other ear to drown out the sound of Cherry's cursing. It was hard enough to hear as it was. He couldn't imagine that Palkia's Woods had very good reception.

"Hey, Kim," he answered, "what's going on?"

Maple edged closer to him, eager to hear what Kim had to say. She had been quiet all afternoon, presumably to make their Aipom hunt easier, but she must have been bored following them around. Mark hadn't been able to think of anything that she could do to help with Cherry's training, either. She looked miserable.

"Oh, not much…" Kim's voice had an uncharacteristically sad tone to it.

"Okay…" Mark didn't know how to respond. He waited for her to continue.

"Hey, listen," she started again, but then she stopped again. Mark was beginning to believe that the connection was broken.

"Yeah," he urged her on.

"Are you guys doing anything tonight?" she almost blurted it out.

"Maybe…" Mark looked back at Cherry. Four more Aipom and they would be finished. It would be a good stopping point. However, if Aurum wanted them to continue, there wouldn't be much room for arguing.

"Oh…uhh…" Kim clearly didn't know what to do with such a vague answer, "well…the thing is, I have a match tonight. And…I was wondering if you guys wanted to come."

"Ah, okay," Mark nodded, "yeah, I think we'll be able to come. Depends on if Aurum makes us stay here tonight and train."

"Oh, okay," she sounded as if she expected something similar, "well, if you can make it, that'd be cool. But, don't stress over it or anything…"

There was something in Kim's voice that he didn't like. This wasn't just an open, friendly invitation. In fact, all of Kim's casual, disconnected attitude was nowhere to be found. This meant a lot to her.

"We'll figure something out," he said, trying to be assertive, this time, "missing one night of training isn't going to kill us." Aurum might hit him with a fishing pole, but it couldn't hurt worse than the first time…at least he hoped not.

"Oh, really?" her voice brightened at that, but she backed off her excitement and composed herself before continuing, "I mean, that's cool," she whispered the next part, "and I think I figured something out about Team Deus that I wanted to tell you."

"Really?" now they were definitely going, "alright, then. I'll see you tonight."

"Cool," she responded, "later."

"Later."

* * *

><p>"Well?" Volt asked Kim as she hung up the phone, "was that so hard?"<p>

Kim tossed her head as she thought of a suitable response, "harder than it should have been."

"You're even a bitch to yourself, you know," Volt sighed.

"It's what I am," Kim started walking towards the Pokémon Center, smiling this time, "smartass," she called Volt, casually.

"I love you, too," Volt rolled his eyes as he followed his trainer.

* * *

><p>AN: yay! I'm not dead!<p>

Nope, just had another one of those times where work went insane and my free time went out the window along with it. Mostly it was just poor timing, really.

But, anyways, ONE MORE FIGHT AND ROUND ONE IS OVER!

About damned time too, I'm sure. This is what happens when you've never written something longer than a few pages and try to write a novel without editing until it's finished. It ends up being too short, or too long. In my case, it's disturbingly long.

Oh well, it's good practice, at least. Every now and then I reread some earlier chapters and I realize how much better I've gotten. At least, I think I'm getting better. It's hard to tell sometimes.

Anyway, in other news, I posted a second one-shot story called The Children of Jirachi: A Disease and a Disaster. i wrote it in conjunction with KroganThrashballer83, who provided the basis for the backstory (I think I'm repeating myself) and it turned out really awesome. Less violent than usual, but it really wasn't necessary.

So, if you missed me posting that (way back on August 1st) I invite you to check it out.

Unfortunately, I still cannot say that the characters from the one-shots will be able to find a place in the main story. There's already a full cast in the main story and I don't really want to have the one-shot characters show up just to get beaten or for a short cameo or something like that. MAYBE I'll find something, but for now, just worry about what in the world happened in Kim's past…

Also, I trimmed down some old AN. Just trying to get the word count a bit more accurate and cut out my meaningless rambling (like what I'm doing right now).

I guess that's everything. Thanks for reading!


	60. Watch This Noob: Part 1

Chapter 59

Cherry couldn't remember anything about the stadium from her first visit. She remembered Eric's battle against the human Mightyena and Crobat that Farin used, but entering and exiting the stadium was a blank. Mark and Maple didn't mention it to her either. Whatever happened, it was traumatizing enough for her to block it out.

She remembered her second visit. But mostly she just remembered being angry at all of the hidden assassins in the crowd. A stupid, paranoid idea, she realized, but not all that far gone from her current attitude. The assassins were still there, hiding amongst the normal tournament-goers, but this time was different. This time she wanted them to come out.

The Charmander-girl had spent all day chasing down Aipom. They were small fry, barely even worth her time anymore. She had learned Fire Fang, but she had not yet attacked anything with it. She was tired of fighting mere Pokémon; she wanted the part-human kind that Maple got to fight. To her dismay, there were no random challengers as she climbed the steps with Mark and Maple.

Eric and Lily had chosen not to come. Both of them, along with their human Pokémon, were exhausted from training with Aurum. They had managed to defeat Mortem and Billow, but Nails remained as solid as ever. Aurum refused to give them pointers and insisted that they find their own way. But without a type advantage, there was almost nothing that they could do to break through the human Ferrothorn.

Aurum hadn't been pleased that Mark had decided to skip training for the evening. He grumbled something about a lack of discipline, but he let them go anyway. Later, Mark had realized that Cherry must have made quicker progress than what Aurum had expected. Fifty Aipom in a single day was a feat to be proud of. They deserved a little rest. Mark was just thankful Aurum didn't use the fishing pole on him.

He did, however, give him something more to think about.

With Cherry's speed training completed, it would be up to Mark to decide how to train her next. Speed was crucial for most anything a Charmander could do on a battlefield, but there were five other ways to improve a Pokémon's abilities and each one had its own advantages and disadvantages. It was common practice to maximize the capability of Charmander's attacks, but anything he planned depended on whether or not Cherry could evolve. Which there were still no signs to indicate that it was even possible. In all likelihood, Shinobi still far outstripped her abilities. And the human Ninjask ninja would be next to impossible for Maple to defeat. Mark needed Cherry to have any hope of winning his next match.

The stadium was sparse compared to most matches they had been to. It was the final match in Round One and a night match at that, but Maple felt a little sad that Kim wouldn't have much of an audience. As the three of them settled into their seats, she overheard a conversation from the row ahead of them.

"Oh, the trainer's a bitch, but wait 'til you see the Vaporeon-girl."

"You think she'll use her?"

"It's her strongest, she has to."

"Is she really that hot?"

"Just wait, man, just wait. It's better to see her for yourself."

It didn't make much sense to Maple, but they must have been talking about Sprinkle. Kim had mentioned her human Vaporeon before, but they still hadn't met her. The thought of meeting another human Eevee evolution was exciting, but she was too worried about herself and Mark to be in very high spirits.

She had been half sick with worry for most of the afternoon. The realization that Mark hadn't touched her in days weighed heavily on her. No hand-holding, no hugging, nothing at all. Why did he stop? When did he stop? Did she do something wrong; something that made him angry at her? What could it be?

And what did it mean?

Trying to distract herself, she looked around the stadium. Was it just her or were there mostly men in the stands? She hadn't noticed anything strange like that in any other matches, but…yeah, it was mostly men. Strange.

* * *

><p><em>Don't worry about why they're cheering, just try to enjoy it. <em>

That was what Kim told herself, but she couldn't stop herself. _Who are they really cheering for_? she thought. But what difference did it make? She was the trainer and Sprinkle was the human Pokémon. By all rights, she should be happy that Sprinkle was famous, right? Of course she should be! Sprinkle wouldn't be famous at all if it weren't for Kim!

Still, nobody in the streets begged her for Volt's autograph and barely anyone knew Cotton even existed.

Kim's head hurt. What was she doing? She had a match to focus on. Last night, she had looked the guy up. Blake Numens was his name. It wasn't a name she knew, but it would be a bad idea to just dismiss the guy. He wasn't a member of the Four, but she had lost to a similar nobody three years ago.

Blake Numens looked like a non-descript nobody too. There was a small cleft in his chin, but that was the most distinguishing facial feature he possessed. Brown hair, brown eyes, average height. Kim couldn't positively say she could pick him out in a police line-up.

Nevertheless, he knew her. Well, he knew her in the way that everybody else seemed to know her.

"You're Sprinkle's trainer, right?"

"Yeah," Kim sighed, already eager to beat the crap out of this guy.

"I remember you…" He nodded as he let go of her hand, "you lost in Round Two last time."

"I prefer to remember the win," Kim returned, "but thanks in advance for not wanting Sprinkle's autograph." There was a limit to how many times a day she could watch her scrawl her name. Especially when Sprinkle could barely read what she was signing. She was hot and she was a good battler, but that was about all she had going for her.

"I see…" Blake nodded, "must be lonely, being in her shadow."

"Hey, no offense if I don't feel like pouring my heart out to a complete stranger, but can we get on with this?" Kim snapped. Even if the guy was trying to be nice to her, he was being a moron about it.

"Oh, yeah…" the guy drew back, shocked by her harsh words, "sure…let's get..." He trailed off as Kim turned and stomped away.

_Dammit, calm down_! she thought to herself, _you want to be a bitch forever_? That made it worse. For the hell of it, she glanced at the crowd.

_There, see? You're not alone_. True enough. Six rows up, she spied Maple's long, leaf-like ears, bobbing as she cheered for her. Next to her were Mark and his newest little Charmander-girl.

Feeling like a fool, Kim put a hand up to her face and smirked. At least there was one group in the crowd that was here for her and not Sprinkle.

Would they stay that way? Or would the spotlight shift to Sprinkle, like it always did? Tonight was the night to find out.

Relatively calmed by the presence of Mark and Maple, her thoughts shifted back to the battle. Her opponent knew her. More importantly, he knew that this was not her first tournament. If he knew that, then he knew what she used. Volt and Sprinkle had fought alone three years ago. But they weren't alone now.

Kim reached for one of the Pokéballs at her hip. Cotton may not like it, but she was part Pokémon, like the rest of them. Kim knew that, deep down, Cotton could be as fierce a competitor as any of them. It would just take a little extra convincing.

"GO!"

* * *

><p>Light. A white flash of light.<p>

Not good.

That meant her worst fears were coming true.

Kim was calling her out into a battle.

Something had gone wrong. Something had to have gone wrong.

Volt and Sprinkle were always so strong. They didn't need her. What could she do that they couldn't? If it had been tough enough to beat them, then what hope did she have?

Cotton was trembling when she emerged onto the field. The roar of the crowd made her legs feel wobbly. She stood there, small, timid, scared and vulnerable. Her saucer eyes darted everywhere as she began hyperventilating. She stopped when she saw the scoreboard. Three lights on this side…three lights on the other side. It was the start of the battle. Not the end, not the middle, but the very, very start. Kim had picked her first.

She sat down hard on the ground and clutched her knees.

"Cotton," Kim's voice came from behind her, "Cotton…sweetie?"

_You gotta be gentle with her_, Kim remembered Volt's advice. She didn't know until she saw their opponent, but now she was certain that there would be no way to win without Cotton.

Across the field stood a human Electivire. He was big, broad-shouldered and heavily muscled. The lower half of his jaw, except for his chin, was covered with a jagged, bright yellow beard. It matched the hair on his head, as well as his yellow and black tiger-striped jacket. His stout, but strong legs were adorned with the same black and yellow design, as were his gloves. Twin black tails, tipped in red, peaked overtop of his shoulders. He looked less like a human Pokémon and more like a man who had simply put on an Electivire's skin.

Electivire, just perfect. Kim's opponent had planned on defeating her with a single human Pokémon. As a Vaporeon, Sprinkle's defenses were legendary, but an Electivire would plow straight through her. Volt would do no better and his electric attacks would only make it more powerful.

That left Cotton. And their only chance at a victory.

"Killowatt, Fire Punch," Blake ordered. A Jumpluff was hardly anything to be afraid of.

"Cotton, sweetie…" Kim started again, the Electivire-man now charging straight for Cotton, "you have to use Sleep Powder…"

The tiny girl didn't respond, but just continued to tremble and hug her knees.

"Cotton, please…" Kim pressed her hands together and prayed, "For me?"

The Jumpluff-girl peered across the field at the oncoming Electivire-man. He was big, strong and probably tough. But he looked slow. He was getting closer, but she still had plenty of time.

But he was going to hurt her. Even at nineteen-years-old, she was a child compared to the man rushing at her. He could pick her up and toss her like a doll. What hope did she have against someone like that?

Kim sounded so desperate, though. She was always angry, always yelling, always swearing…Cotton couldn't handle that. But this time Kim was…nice.

"O-okay," she said, shakily, "if you think I can."

"I do," Kim nodded, "I really do." She didn't know whether her pride or her terror was stronger, but she had no choice but to stare at the tiny Jumpluff-girl and wait.

When Killowatt was within just three yards of her, Cotton jumped straight into the air. The Electivire-man skidded to a halt and peered up at her. She began to float down, light as a cotton cloth. She began to spin in place, scattering pollen that glittered orange in the light of the setting sun.

Below her, Killowatt blinked a few times, trying to force himself to stay awake. But soon his head began to sway and he pitched forward. He landed face-first into the dirt. As Cotton landed by his head, he rolled over and began to snore loudly.

"Sleep tight," Cotton chirped happily down at him. Up close, Kim could see that she was no more than a third of his size.

Kim let out a burst of relieved laughter. Too close. Far too close. But now Cotton was ready for battle. Whatever her next opponent was, she could handle it.

Through the microphone, Kim could hear Blake swearing indignantly at his snoozing Electivire. It was his best shot at victory and now it was out of commission. He wasn't officially finished, but most trainers viewed it as the next best thing. However, it would be illegal for Kim to put a second one to sleep. Sleep Powder could help Cotton in a pinch, but it wasn't something she could rely on for everything. It was time to try something different.

"Alright, Cotton," Kim whispered, "make a Substitute." Even with Killowatt sleeping peacefully and dead to the world, Cotton was allowed to attack. Except attacking wasn't Cotton. Instead, she made her Substitute in silence while Blake recalled Killowatt and switched to a new human Pokémon.

This time, a human Glalie appeared across the field. Kim couldn't determine gender, since the figure was garbed mostly in a loose-fitting black robe. Its face was obscured by a face-mask made entirely of ice. Two small, black horns jutted from the corners of its head. Its blue eyes stared at the small Jumpluff-girl with a gaze as cold as the ice covering its face.

"Ice Beam, Frostbite."

"Leech Seed."

Once again, Cotton would only have one chance to do this right, but if she did then another one of Blake's Pokémon would fall and the match would all but belong to Kim.

The Jumpluff-girl bounced into the air. Her light weight let her float through the air like a flower petal caught in a whirlwind. She could move quickly and she was within range well before the Glalie was ready to attack her. She created a single seed, half the size of her pinky finger in her palm. She threw it at the Glalie, hitting it squarely in the chest.

But she couldn't get out of the way fast enough to avoid the spray of freezing water it shot at her. The Substitute body froze on contact, tumbled over and shattered into nothing, while Cotton herself appeared a short distance behind it. By that time, the seed on the Glalie's chest had sprouted. A small, vine-like plant rapidly grew to cover Frostbite's chest.

As Cotton bounced backwards, the vines flashed red for a brief second and Frostbite cringed, clutching at the vines. But whenever the human Glalie tried to wrench them free, it cried out in fierce pain. Removing them by force would be futile. Instead, it fired another Ice Beam.

Cotton squeaked in alarm, raising a Protect barrier only moments before the super-cooled water would have hit her directly. Instead, it splashed around her, freezing the grass before beginning to melt away.

But now Cotton could only run. She bounced from here to there, all over the field. But the Glalie was amazingly accurate, its Ice Beams always right behind her. Another Substitute shattered as Cotton fled. The vines rooted in Frostbite's chest continued to flash red every now and then.

* * *

><p>"Hmm…" Mark looked down at the field, listening to Cotton's frightened squeaks as she fled from the Glalie. Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, Substitute, Protect. That was everything Cotton was capable of. There were no attacks. No way for her to directly damage her opponent.<p>

"Wait, I get it," Mark declared.

"Get what?" Cherry asked, "I don't understand what's going on. Shouldn't she attack him?"

"She doesn't have to," Mark shook his head, grinning as he broke down Kim's tactic, "she's already hit him with Leech Seed."

"So?"

"Leech Seed drains the energy of the Pokémon it hits," Mark explained, "but it also gives that energy back to the Pokémon that used it. That means that if Cotton just runs and uses Protect and Substitute to defend herself, then all Kim has to do is sit back and wait for the Glalie to run out of strength." Clever. Very clever.

More than that, it was perfectly suited to Cotton. The last time Mark had seen the Jumpluff-girl, she was terrified to fight, even if it meant risking their very lives. With a strategy like this, all she had to do was run. Run and survive. And Leech Seed would take care of the rest.

And Kim's opponent might never guess what she was up to. Cotton's frightened squeaks and shrieks only distracted the Glalie and its trainer from their true goal. Before long, Cotton would win this fight.

* * *

><p><em>Just a little bit more<em>, Kim thought, _just a little bit more_…

This was the problem with fighting with Cotton. Kim's nerves were constantly shot. One misstep and the entire strategy would go up in smoke. The process was guaranteed to work, once it got going, but it took forever. The sun finished setting and the stadium's floodlights came on while Cotton still bounced around the Glalie.

Both of them were exhausted. The Glalie probably only had a few more Ice Beams left in him and Cotton was still fighting only because of the sapped energy from Leech Seed. But Cotton had the advantage. The Glalie had started coughing up blood two or three Ice Beams back. One or two more and he'd be finished.

Cotton was empty, though. She wouldn't get another chance to use Leech Seed and she was too exhausted from the Glalie to continue. Kim could switch to Sprinkle at any time, but she had to know what Blake's third human Pokémon was. Her only choice was to leave Cotton in.

At last, the Glalie hit its wall. Its knees buckled and it sank to the ground, spitting blood across the wet grass. Cotton landed twenty yards away, her small body shaking as she panted. The Leech Seed vines flashed red one last time and Frostbite collapsed while Cotton stood up straighter.

"You're good," Blake admitted, through the speaker, "you're very good." Frostbite vanished from the field.

"Feel free to give up," Kim taunted, "you know what I've got left."

"True," somehow Blake was still confident, "but you don't know what I have left. Molten!"

"Huh?" Kim looked down to see a male, human Blaziken across the field. His fire-red vest was open, revealing a tightly muscled core. His long legs were not far behind and his pants were covered with a similar shade of red with orange flames that rose just above the knee. A small crest topped his forehead and his hair was long and a pale shade of blond.

"Finish her, now! Flamethrower!" Blake shouted.

Cotton stared at the flames in dismay. She had no more Substitutes left in her and there was no time to raise a Protect. She couldn't stop the flames from reaching her. She let out a high-pitched squeak and cringed away from the wall of fire. She shut her eyes tight, but the heat was everywhere. She whimpered and wailed, praying for it to be over.

Then, somehow, it was.

Bewildered, she looked around, blinking away her tear-filled eyes.

"Hey, cutie…" a coy, flirtatious voice sounded overtop of her.

Kim had switched at the last moment, using her next human Pokémon to block the attack and save Cotton.

With her eyes still blurry from her tears, Cotton flung herself at the leg of her savior and clung to it for dear life.

"SPRINKLE!"

* * *

><p>AN: I always feel rusty after I haven't been able to write for a while.<p>

Ah…SubSeeding. It's a fun strategy, if you've never seen it. It is tough to pull off, though, and Cotton's moveset is incredibly vulnerable to Taunt. Still, it works REALLY well for her.

Speaking of Cotton, though, I should probably change her name. you know, since there's a Pokémon called Cottonee. It's just a thought…and another sign of when I started this story.

Anyways, you will FINALLY see Sprinkle next chapter! She's a character that I've wanted to write since this story began. I even delayed her introduction because I had it so well planned out to be done during the fight. Will I get it up by Tuesday, like I want to? Time will tell.

Either way, I still thank you very much for reading and I hope to see you again soon!


	61. Watch This Noob: Part 2

Chapter 60

For about ten or fifteen seconds after Sprinkle appeared on the field, the stadium fell silent. Maple could not say why, but her initial excitement transformed into puzzlement as she looked at the Vaporeon-girl.

She was plainly older than Maple. Maybe twenty or twenty-one human years. She had the characteristic ears and finned tail of a Vaporeon, as well as long, straight and shiny aqua-blue hair, but…Maple couldn't quite describe how she looked…or how she dressed.

First of all, Sprinkle did not have very much clothing on. To Maple, it looked like very fancy underwear. Although, there was a fair chance that it covered less than what Maple's did. In the row ahead of her, the man who hadn't seen Sprinkle before gasped aloud.

"Holy crap! All she's wearing is a bikini!"

"I _told_ you!" the other one said to him, though most of his attention was directed at the field.

Bikini? It was a strange word, but it felt like it fit the two small articles of clothing that covered Sprinkle where it mattered most. Each piece was a dark blue, trimmed with black. She also wore long, fingerless gloves and thigh-high boots that were similarly colored.

But it wasn't just the way that Sprinkle dressed that seemed to draw the eye of every person in the stadium. At first, Maple had no explanation for why that was, but when she began to compare herself to Sprinkle, she came up with a few guesses. In certain areas, Sprinkle was quite a bit…bigger and…curvier than Maple. It had never crossed her mind that these were important areas, but the crowd seemed to think so.

She turned to Mark, wondering what he thought.

Then she wished she hadn't.

The feeling that gripped onto her was not one she knew. It was a mix of anger and hurt. A lot like when she had fought with him on the first day of the tournament. But it wasn't quite the same and certainly not as strong. It was strange. She had never felt anything quite like it. And she hated it.

The way Mark looked at Sprinkle; Maple couldn't remember a time when he had looked at her like that. The expression itself was strange. His eyes were wide, trying to mentally photograph what he was looking at. It looked as if Sprinkle had hypnotized him somehow.

"Mark?" Maple tried to ask, but that was the moment when the stadium shook around them as Sprinkle's fans cheered her on.

Maple didn't know if it had anything to do with where they were sitting, but to her, the cheers for Sprinkle were even louder than the ones that a full stadium had shouted at PureBlueSky.

* * *

><p><em>There it goes…<em>

Kim face-palmed as screams of "I love you!" "You're so hot!" and "Give me your number!" filled the air. There were more vulgar shouts mixed in, but Kim did her best to block those out. She recalled the shaking Cotton back to her Pokéball as Sprinkle turned, waved and blew kisses at the crowd. The shouting only grew louder and Kim could see an awful lot of camera lights flashing on the other side of the stadium floodlights.

_Don't encourage them_, she thought. She had told Sprinkle the same thing before, but it obviously did no good. Kim wondered if she should buy a baseball bat to beat them with. It would be easy, cheap, effective, and an awful lot of fun…

She smirked to herself at the idea before raising her head.

_Oh, God…she's posing now…_

"Sprinkle," at the call, the Vaporeon-girl snapped to attention, "we're still fighting."

"Oh! Sorry!" she giggled before turning to face her opponent.

Molten, the human Blaziken, was just as dumbfounded as the rest of the crowd of perverts. Kim supposed that had some value to it. Most people underestimated Cotton because she was small and constantly terrified. If an opponent thought Sprinkle was too hot to attack…well, that was something.

Blaziken. Maybe she should have swapped Cotton out faster. Blake's Glalie wasn't likely to have anything that could topple Sprinkle and with Killowatt snoozing away inside his Pokéball the stage was set for Sprinkle to wash away the rest of the competition. As it was, if the human Electivire woke up, her best bet would be to call Cotton back out, put him to sleep again and start Leech Seed. It would be safer to have Cotton at full strength for that encounter, but whether she was or not, Killowatt could still sweep Kim's entire team.

Still, she couldn't have asked for a better match-up than water versus fire. This was Blake's third and last human Pokémon, the only wild-card he hadn't revealed. Beat it and anything Kim had could handle a napping Electivire.

Sprinkle's tail started to wag as she looked at her opponent.

"Wow…" she giggled, "you're actually kinda hot…"

"Likewise," Molten returned, his voice was cool, but he couldn't stop staring.

"You think so?" Sprinkle feigned embarrassment and pouted her lips. She began to pivot on her hips, clutching herself in a way that made her chest look bigger.

"STOP FLIRTING AND FIGHT!" Kim screamed down at the bro and the ho, "SCALD!"

Molten flinched away from her screaming, but Sprinkle never missed a beat.

The Vaporeon-girl sprayed a jet of steaming water directly at the human Blaziken. Though unaffected by the boiling temperature, the water still caused massive damage to the fire type. The stream blasted him in the chest, soaking him head-to-toe as his feet left the ground. His once pretty, long hair instantly became covered in dirt and bits of grass. Though severely wounded, he managed to get back to his feet.

"Thunderpunch!" came the call from the other end of the stadium.

"Shit!" Kim swore at Blake's order. She had never encountered a Blaziken that knew Thunderpunch before and it was already too late to change her strategy.

It was Molten's turn at offense. He charged at Sprinkle as small sparks of electricity arced around his clenched fist. Sprinkle ducked under the first swing, but the second caught her in the stomach. She shuddered as the blow electrocuted her body.

She landed on her back, her long hair fanned out across the ground. Her chest began to rapidly rise and fall as she panted. Her eyes were filled with tears and a horrified, hurt expression as she looked up at her deeply muscled attacker.

"_Why_?" she whimpered, desperately. She clutched her chest as she panted.

"Stop messing around and finish him, you dumb slut!" Kim face-palmed with both hands. She groaned, as if to ask the world, _why am I surrounded by idiots_?

Sprinkle wanted a picture of Molten's shocked expression when she bounced back to her feet. Electric attacks were strong against water Pokémon, there was no question, and there was also no question that he had done considerable damage to Sprinkle. However, he suddenly realized that there had been no blood. A blow like that should have drawn blood. Against most other water Pokémon, it would have. But he had forgotten that Vaporeon possessed a very impressive stamina. One of the best in all the world of Pokémon. It instantly made the Pokémon a favorite amongst some of the strongest trainers in the world.

Molten was still staring when Sprinkle's second spray of Scald hit him square in the face. Once more, his feet left the ground and he landed flat on his back, staring up at the floodlights shining down on the stadium. He blinked a few times, feeling unconscious come for him. Then, like some sort of beach-bunny angel, Sprinkle bent forward over him.

"Sorry," she shrugged, giggling, "but you really shouldn't abuse girls like that." She giggled again and skipped away before he fell unconscious.

* * *

><p>"Well…" Mark leaned back as the human Blaziken disappeared from the field.<p>

"'Well,' what?" Maple asked, hurriedly.

"Well, now all that's left is the Electivire," he explained, "they can be really tough Pokémon. Most have a wide variety of attacks for anything they might face."

"He's asleep, though," Cherry pointed out.

"Asleep, but not beaten," Mark reminded her, "Sleep Powder is only temporary. Unless Kim has a _really_ good plan, this could all depend on how long he _stays_ asleep."

"What if he wakes up right away?" Maple asked, "What can she do?" She forced her worries about Sprinkle's appearance from her mind.

"Well," Mark thought for a minute, "Cotton was quick enough to use Sleep Powder against him. If she did it once, she could do it again. And Kim still has Volt. Even though electric attacks make Electivire faster, he could use something else. But, like I said, it might have something that can beat him easily, anyway. So, that might not be a good match-up…" He shook his head as if to reset his thoughts.

"What would you do?" Cherry asked.

"Depends on what Kim taught them," he shrugged, "and on how good of a trainer she really is."

* * *

><p>Two defeated human Pokémon and one sleeping one was not enough for Blake to give in. Kim had hoped that he would, but her opponent was no more a fool than she was. If Killowatt woke up at the wrong time, then she was finished. Sleep Powder had saved her last time, but it might not happen again. Every second would be crucial.<p>

"Aww…" Sprinkle cooed when the snoring Electivire-man appeared on the field, "he looks like a big, sleepy teddy bear!"

"Never mind him, Sprinkle," Kim chastised her, "get back. We don't have much time."

Kim recalled Sprinkle, ignoring the groans of the crowd around her, and sent Cotton back out onto the field.

"H-h-him again?" even though the massive Electivire-man was just a sleeping mound at the moment, Cotton was petrified of it. Like it or not, Kim wasn't finished with the tiny Jumpluff-girl.

"Cotton, I need you to use Leech Seed again," Kim kept her eyes fixated on the Electivire-man. _Please don't wake up, please don't wake up_, she prayed.

"He's gonna wake up soon…" Cotton whined.

"I know," Kim's hands started shaking, "please, do it! I won't make you fight him, just please, use Leech Seed now!"

She thought about lowering her voice to keep from disturbing Killowatt's sleep, but it was already too late. The mound of muscle rolled over and pushed himself to his knees. His groan was as loud as most animals roar as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"EEP!" Cotton squeaked. But the shock was enough to make her toss a second Leech Seed. It struck Killowatt's massive forearm and immediately began sucking out his energy. Now they would have to wait again.

Killowatt was on his feet and charging within moments. His fist glowed red as he readied a Fire Punch that would finish off Cotton three times over.

"SPRINKLE!" Kim shouted. A new wave of cheers echoed around the stadium as the scantily-clad Vaporeon-girl appeared to take the hit intended for Cotton. The Jumpluff-girl cowered for a moment on the other side of the curvy girl before Kim called her back into the safety of her Pokéball.

"Tell me you have a plan," Sprinkle asked seriously, for a change, as she surveyed their final obstacle. Killowatt was huge, strong, and angry. The fire surrounding his fist transformed to sparks of electricity. Thunderpunch was next.

"Working on it," Kim breathed, "Protect!"

Sprinkle held out her hands and raised her own semi-transparent barrier. Killowatt pounded on it like a shark trying to get inside a diver's cage. Sprinkle panted, involuntarily this time, as she felt the barrier slipping. It wouldn't last much longer.

Before it fell, however, she felt a soothing sensation spread through her. The pain in her stomach from Molten's attack faded a little. She smiled back at Kim.

"Ohhh, I see…" Sprinkle nodded, Kim had done this before, but never had a tournament victory rested on its outcome, "what about Volt?" Sprinkle asked her.

"He'll be okay," Kim lied, "just worry about yourself." Just then, Sprinkle's Protect failed. Her eyes shot wide as Killowatt grinned maniacally at her. It was over.

Except it was Volt's turn.

The Raichu-boy was half the size of his opponent, but he had no trouble blocking his Thunderpunch. Not many Raichu, let alone human Raichu, possessed the ability of Lightningrod, but Volt did and it served him well. Using his tail, he dissipated the electrical current meant to damage him into the ground where it would hurt nothing at all.

He looked back over his shoulder at Sprinkle. She was an inch taller.

"'sup?" he nodded as casually as he could manage. She looked as hot as ever. The arcs of electricity crossing between the two electric types lit up her face. But she only had enough time to smile before she vanished from the field.

_Now, then_, Volt thought.

Apparently he was fighting an Electivire. The guy was huge and there was a hell of a lot of power behind that Thunderpunch he managed to block. Volt was used to being the underdog darting between the feet of giants, but this was an Electivire. He'd be totally outclassed by someone like this. What the hell was Kim thinking?

Then he saw the Leech Seed vines sprouting from Killowatt's left forearm. So that's how it was. Kim didn't want him to win; she wanted him to buy time. He sighed. It was cruel, but that's how it always was for Volt. Time to take another fall for the team. Hell, he had been the first to fall for Sprinkle after she evolved, and he had been a Raichu back then. Why stop now?

At last, the Electivire-man stopped trying to electrocute him and backed off a few paces. The two electric types circled each other, waiting for the other to move first.

"Whatever you do, don't use electricity on him," Kim warned.

"Yeah, yeah," Volt tossed his head, "I'm not stupid."

Killowatt charged at him, not following any patterns and acting without orders. He grasped for the smaller Raichu-boy, but found nothing. Volt ducked underneath his arms and struck a Brick Break into his attacker's kidneys. Killowatt howled in pain and pitched forward, but Volt saw no blood

"Cross Chop," Blake's order came from across the stadium.

Volt's ears flattened against his head as Killowatt's hand came close enough to brush his chin, as he pulled back. He flattened against the ground as the other electric-type rose to his feet. Volt couldn't believe how huge his silhouette was against the stadium's floodlights. He shot forward, trying to end the fight with another Brick Break to his opponent's mid-section.

He was a moment too late. Killowatt's Cross Chop sandwiched his face between two massive fists before opening again. Volt's vision went black as he felt himself tumble to the ground, but the pain somehow wasn't there. When he could see again, flashing spots of light that might have been stars, or might have been the stadium lights, or might not have existed at all danced in front of his eyes.

_I'm okay_, he thought. Then he coughed up a mouthful of blood. _Never mind_.

* * *

><p>The crowd's cheers for Sprinkle only seemed to get louder in Kim's ears. Volt was down and they didn't give a fig. They just wanted Sprinkle to bounce up and down for them again. Well, fine, let them leer. So long as Killowatt fell, what difference did it make?<p>

The Vaporeon-girl was starting to look better. Molten's Thunderpunch hadn't drawn blood, which was a good sign, to begin with, and Cotton's Leech Seed had given her a boost in strength. Another Protect barrier would help her get a little bit more, but after that she was on her own.

Two hits. Kim dared not to hope for anything better than that. After Volt had fallen after a single Cross Chop Kim's hopes for victory were starting to dim. This battle went from a sure victory to a fight for survival in just a few quick minutes.

Kim dared not call on Cotton. The fragile Jumpluff-girl was scared out of her wits enough. One fight was often the best Kim could get out of her. Nevertheless, if they won, it would only be because of what Cotton had done.

She had done enough. She had earned her right to sit in her Pokéball and rest. Sprinkle would handle the rest.

"Protect," Kim commanded. Once more, Killowatt pounded furiously against Sprinkle's defense. He needed to end this fight quickly. It would take a minimum of two blows to finish both Sprinkle and Cotton. The damage he had suffered from Volt's Brick Break drastically cut his time short. He had only a few minutes, at most, before Leech Seed sucked him dry.

Sprinkle's Protect began to flicker as Killowatt pounded on it.

"Sprinkle, get ready," Kim called. Her Vaporeon-girl was shaking with fear and anticipation. Exhausted, she had no choice but to lower Protect.

"NOW! SCALD!"

Sprinkle drew in breath for the attack, but she was too late. Killowatt's Thunderpunch connected with the lower half of her rib cage, on her right side. She didn't need to pretend to be hurt this time. Her body shook with pain. A small patch of her skin was black from the electrical burns. Her insides felt like they were on fire, yet she still felt cold.

Killowatt strode forward, ready to finish her and move on to the Jumpluff-girl.

With the last of her strength, Sprinkle managed to roll onto her back. She fired the boiling jet of water at Killowatt's face. The Electivire-man screeched in pain, holding his massive hands up to block the attack, but he only succeeded in burning his palms. When the attack was finished, he shook his head, spraying water like a dog and charged at her.

Whimpering, Sprinkle brought up the barrier of Protect again and cowered underneath it. Her massive assailant pounded and battered on the edge of her shield. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not pierce its defense.

At long last, the damage from his burn and the energy leaking through Cotton's Leech Seed caught up with him. Just as Sprinkle lost the strength to hold up Protect any longer, he slumped forward and collapsed onto the grass.

* * *

><p>Sprinkle loved it when they cheered. She couldn't help it. The cheers meant that she was strong and beautiful. The object of every man's affections and the envy of every woman. But they weren't cheering right now. The stadium was quiet and she couldn't get up.<p>

"Hey," Kim was over top of her. Strong, dependable Kim. "We won."

"I know," Sprinkle nodded, "it hurts…"

"I know," Kim pulled out her Pokéball, "here, get inside. I'll get you to the Pokémon Center."

"Umm…Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you help me up?"

"What for?" Kim sounded dubious.

"They want me to wave," Sprinkle groaned, "make sure I'm okay."

"You're hurt," Kim sighed, "they'll get over it if you don't _wave_."

"Please?"

"Alright…fine," Kim knelt down, put her arm around Sprinkle's waist and draped her arm over her shoulders. Straining, she helped to lift the taller girl to her feet.

Sprinkle was unsteady and it hurt to breathe, but with Kim's support she could stand. She held her other arm up and waved to the crowd.

They cheered the loudest of all right then.

* * *

><p>AN: this seems to be the best way to depict mid-battle switching. The game animates it as the first Pokemon leaving and then the second Pokemon taking its place, but I don't really understand why the opponent would still use the same attack if the target is now suddenly different. Thus, I decided to have the new Pokemon come in first, block an attack and then pull out the first one.<p>

Anyway, I must be going. Thanks for reading!


	62. Shadows on the Wall

Chapter 61

"I'm hungry…" Cherry whined as she followed Mark down the hallway of the Pokémon Center, "can't this wait? Her room is down the hall from us."

"Kim said she had some news about Team Deus," he reminded the small Charmander-girl, "it'll only take a minute." Kim's fight had taken an unusually long time. Most of it was devoted to Cotton's battle with the human Glalie. Cherry had complained she was hungry at the start, and that was an hour ago. "We'll eat soon, I promise," Mark sighed. _Soon_, he realized, _is a relative term, though._

Giving up on her trainer, Cherry turned to Maple. The Leafeon-girl shuffled along behind them, her eyes on the floor and her ears drooping forward. Cherry was about to ask if she would help her find something to eat, but she thought better of it when she saw that forlorn expression.

Cherry had only been with the two a short time, but something wasn't right here. Whatever was bothering Maple, Mark either didn't notice or ignored it. He hadn't once asked her if anything was wrong, though it was obvious from looking at her. Cherry had known since they were still in the woods, but what could she say? Mark should know, but he wasn't doing anything.

"Here we go," Mark announced. He knocked before opening the door into Kim's room.

"-difference does it make?!" Kim was yelling, though it wasn't clear who it was directed at, "we won, didn't we? It's a _team _effort, asshole!"

"Uh…hey, everybody," Mark crept into the room, afraid to get drawn into the argument. Cherry was right behind him, but she held the door to wait for Maple to catch up.

"Hey, noob," Kim lightly punched his arm, which was still sore from when Aurum had hit him with his fishing pole that morning, "what'd you think of our win?"

"Very impressive," Mark nodded, "guess you're going onto Round Two…as well." He fumbled with the phrase.

"Yep, that Blake guy was a tough son of a bitch," Kim mused, "lucky you two didn't have to fight him." Once Cherry was in the room, she took a long look at the occupants. The little Jumpluff-girl was missing, but both the human Raichu and Vaporeon were there. Volt was in the worst condition, with his head wrapped in bandages. As he leaned against the wall, he looked so dizzy he might pass out. Sprinkle, the Vaporeon-girl, sat on the bed. Though her wounds were healed, she rubbed at the spot where her burn had been.

"Hey! We…" Mark glanced over his shoulder at Maple, normally she would have jumped in at this point, but there was only silence, "we would've been fine."

"Uh-huh," Kim teased, "electric, ice and fire against grass. Yeah, you would've been fiiiine," she let it dig at him for a few more seconds before adding, "I'm just teasing, you whiny noob. It's the luck of the draw, anyway. Besides, I kicked Tristan's ass last time."

"Uh…good job…" Mark thought he was being subtle, but Cherry easily caught his sideways glances over at Sprinkle. The rest either didn't notice or didn't care. Volt was doing the same, except his dizziness made him stare a bit longer. The Vaporeon-girl was the unspoken main attraction in the room.

"Damn straight," Kim nodded, happy to detail her old victories, "Sprinkle swept him. The guy has a history of getting his ass kicked by Eeveelutions."

"Did she, really?" Maple's voice was a timid whisper, by the door. She had her hands cupped in front of her. Cherry had never seen her do that before.

"Yep," Sprinkle chirped from the bed, "Cerberus thinks he's tough, but he's just a wittle puppy." She giggled, quiet and girlish.

"Oh," Maple nodded, looked from Mark to Sprinkle and back to Mark again before looking at the floor.

Kim paused. Her own gaze shifted around the room. She happened to catch Mark glancing at Sprinkle again. Oh, he _wanted_ to stare, that was obvious. But he didn't need to stare for everyone else to get the hint. Volt was old news, but the sixteen-year-old boy was not. This could be fun.

"Oh, hey," Kim began, "you guys haven't met Sprinkle yet," she waved the Vaporeon-girl forward, "come say 'hi.'" Sprinkle's usual crowd of perverts made Kim sick, but Mark was a quiet teenager who thought too much for his own good. She couldn't resist seeing what happened when she put the curvy, scantily-clad Sprinkle in front of him.

Just the look on his face when she jumped from the bed to the floor was priceless.

"Nice to meet you," Sprinkle shook Mark's hand politely, "Kim's told me _lots_ about you."

"S-she _has_?" he stammered.

"Yep," Sprinkle bounced, "nothing bad. She says you worry a lot, but you're still a nice person."

"Uh, yes," Mark drew a blank on how to answer but words were coming out anyway, "yes, I'm a very nice person. Thank you for noticing. Very nice." _Idiot_, he thought. Sprinkle giggled, though. That was nice to see, but it made him feel like even more of an idiot.

"Smooth, noob," Kim snickered, "smooth."

"And you're Maple, right?" Sprinkle moved on to the Leafeon-girl. She hugged her and Maple could feel her…pressing into her. However, she did not hug Sprinkle back.

"Hmm…" Sprinkle peered at Maple, looking for something that wasn't there. Maple's depression was obvious, but Sprinkle still looked confused. "Kim said you're usually cheerful…"

"I'm…tired," Maple closed her eyes and shook her head, "I get tired once the sun goes down."

"Hungry too," Cherry groaned from Maple's side.

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are," Sprinkle knelt down in front of Cherry, "what's your name?"

"Cherry," she answered. She peered at Sprinkle, wondering what was so special about her. Her face was pretty, but…was that it? Whatever it was, only the guys seemed to pick up on it.

"Cherry?" Sprinkle nodded with approval, "that's cute. It matches your hair." She cupped a few strands to get a closer look at it.

"Sort of," Cherry pulled her hair back, "actual cherries are a bit darker."

"I see," Sprinkle nodded, more amused than anything.

Cherry looked back and forth between Mark and Maple. There was something going on in this room that she didn't understand. Something that nobody wanted to talk about. And yet everybody kept looking back and forth, reading the looks in each other's eyes. What in Arceus's name was going on?

"Well, it's still pretty," Sprinkle concluded, "and so are you." She patted Cherry on the head and grew even more confused when the girl scowled at her.

"So, Kim," Mark started, "you said you had some information on Team Deus?"

"Oh, right," lost in the drama that Sprinkle naturally created she forgot why she had called them here, "I came up with a theory about who we're up against."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, from looking at their base, they had to get that money from somewhere," Kim explained, "nothing in that place was cheap and to hide it underneath the island like that…whoever's funding them has to be involved with the tournament."

"Go on," Mark stopped glancing at Sprinkle as Kim divulged her theory.

"They built it right underneath the island without anyone noticing. Now, there's been a lot of construction around here. The hotel, the Pokémon Center, the stadium, all of that stuff was built just so they could have the tournament here. They had to put it here. It's quiet, it's remote and without the tournament, it was just a quiet little fishing village. Nobody knew what all of the digging and drilling was really for and nobody cared. But do you know why nobody cared?"

Mark shrugged. Cherry was having difficulty just keeping up.

"Nobody cared because none of the islanders paid for it all. Everything came out of the pocket of the man who founded the tournament."

"Alfred Silph," Mark finished.

"Exactly," Kim grinned as she nodded, "he paid for the tournament, the stadium, everything. And while it was being built, he was building that little laboratory of his."

"So, you're saying that he _started_ the tournament to trap human Pokémon here?"

"_Exactly_," Kim finished.

"Then…" Mark considered the idea, but saw no flaws, "It all fits…" It did. Alfred Silph had poured millions of dollars into this project. Why? Just so a tiny and scattered population of human Pokémon could come together. What was in it for him? The answer was research subjects.

Human Pokémon were at least twice as powerful as normal Pokémon, but they were also smarter and more independent of their trainers. Nothing in the world could stand up to them. But they were too few. No one knew how they evolved, but if they knew it was possible, then it might also be possible to force it. But it would take money to make a project like that work. And Alfred Silph had plenty.

"So, what does all that mean?" Cherry asked.

"It means we have a very powerful enemy," Mark sighed. He looked around the room. Two humans and four human Pokémon; they were the only ones that knew. Even with Lily and Eric they were still a very small force. Were they meant to take on the _creator_ of the Evolution Cup on their own?

"We need evidence," Mark concluded, "if we can get some evidence out of that base then we can expose the whole thing."

"You want us to go back down there?" Volt managed to protest, "Need I remind you how thoroughly we got our asses kicked last time?"

"I wasn't there last time!" Sprinkle put in, a little too happily.

"Sweetie," Kim put a hand on her shoulder, "you're strong and all, but we almost had to leave you for the horny mob last time."

"Oh," she pouted, "then what do we do?"

"Guess we're back to square one, huh?" Kim asked Mark.

"Guess so," he shrugged, "we'll talk to one of the Four and see what happens."

"Speaking of which," Kim brightened, "how was your group session with Aurum?"

"I killed fifty Aipom," Cherry declared, the flame on her tail swishing energetically.

"Cherry, you didn't kill them," Mark reminded her.

"I could've…" she smirked.

"Sounds like fun," Kim snickered. She liked Mark's little friend.

"Uh, actually, I wanted to ask you something…" Mark started.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, Aurum's pretty busy with the three of us. Uh…Lily, Eric, and me, I mean. But I can only really train Cherry right now and she needs a lot of time to catch up."

"Okay…" suddenly this felt like the reverse of their last conversation. Did he pick up that behavior from her? No, probably not. Both of them were awkward, Kim realized, just in different ways.

"So, anyway, there's not much for Maple to do," the Leafeon-girl snapped to attention at hearing her name, "but I don't want to leave her alone with everything that's going on with Team Deus. So, could she stay with you for a little bit? Just until Cherry's caught up."

"Sure," Kim agreed without hesitation. She had no reason to believe it would be a bad idea. But right after she agreed, Maple's big, brown eyes looked straight at her. What was that expression? She looked lost, but there was a hurt in her eyes as if Kim had just betrayed her.

But it was too late to take back what she said.

"Okay, that settles it, then," Mark sounded relieved, "I mean, if it's okay with you, Maple."

"Uhh…" Cherry thought Maple was going to become as dizzy as Volt with how her eyes shifted around the room. She checked Mark, then Sprinkle, then Kim, then went back again. Kim was the only one that showed any unease. Mark and Sprinkle were both oblivious.

"If you don't think I can help," Maple sighed.

"Maple," unexpectedly, Mark walked up to her, "Cherry and I just need more time to train. Once we're ready to fight Lily you can train with us again."

"You promise?"

"Promise." He smiled at her and Maple couldn't help but smile back.

"Wow," Sprinkle giggled, "Kim was right, you two are cute…"

"Can we eat now?" Cherry groaned, once more.

* * *

><p>Long after Cherry and Mark had fallen asleep, Maple remained awake.<p>

Cherry was nuzzled against her, the girl's flaming tail draped over the side of the bed. It glowed orange-red in the darkness, her personal night-light. Maple peered at the light, watching the flame flicker. Every now and then Cherry fought something in her dreams and it flared for a brief moment, but no one else ever woke.

She watched the light make shadows along the wall. Monstrous shadow-creatures loomed down around the room. But once Maple knew they came from objects as simple as a lamp or a desk chair, they lost their wonder and the room became boring again.

Maple wanted to sleep. She was tired enough for it. All of the energy started to go out of her whenever the sun went down. That had been true even before she had evolved into a girl. Her brother, Eclipse, was the opposite. He was an Umbreon and he loved the night.

His Pokéball was there. It sat on the shelf along with Maple's and Cherry's and Jitter, Maple's other older brother. She was the youngest of that year's litter; the smallest and the weakest, too. Eclipse had been born first, in late spring and next came Jitter in mid-summer. Maple was the last, in the fall. She was the little baby that Mark had taken a special liking to. She had only been a couple months old when he picked her out.

She stared at the Pokéballs a while longer. Her big brothers were inside. Would they want to become humans too? She thought not. She was the only one that had listened to their mother's stories when she was small. Jitter could barely sit still long enough to listen to them and Eclipse thought they were too simple and romantic.

"Life isn't like one of those stories," he would tell her. Mark didn't name them until they evolved, but they knew each other well enough by scent and markings. They didn't need names. Nor did they believe names were important. Only humans believed in names.

It was not even two years ago when Eclipse had told her that life wasn't a story. It was a short time ago, but Maple could barely remember it. She had evolved twice since then and proved to herself that the stories were true.

What did it matter, anyway? Eclipse had still been right. The stories didn't tell truths, they just told beautiful lies.

She wanted to open up his Pokéball and hit him with a Leaf Blade, just for being right.

But that wouldn't make her feel better.

And it wasn't just her. Many other Pokémon evolved into humans just to have their dreams thrown back in their faces. The little Charmander-girl sharing her bed was one of them. She had evolved for the same reason Maple had. Cherry had loved her trainer, but he abandoned her in a cell under the ground. Who could do that to someone who loved them so dearly?

And what about the experiments that Farin had used against them? No Pokémon wanted to exist like that. They had been twisted and warped into soulless fighters. All at the whim of some evil organization that still had no face.

Yes, Eclipse was right. Life wasn't like the fairy tales she grew up believing in. It was filled with pain and hurt and broken dreams. They fought against it, but it was never gone. Sometimes it even felt like the hurt was winning.

But she had known all that before. Eclipse was right, sure, but it didn't matter. It shouldn't have mattered. She could still stand, she could still fight. She could…if only Mark would stand with her.

She supposed that was why she was still awake.

It wasn't just how he looked at Sprinkle. It wasn't just that he didn't tell her about Suicune or that he wouldn't touch her anymore. They were just signs. They weren't the real problem.

Maple's brothers had called her a naïve fool for believing those stories and dismissed her as their hopelessly romantic little sister. Then she evolved and proved they were true, only to lose her parents and the world that she had known since she had been born. She had lost Mark once and they became stronger for it. But even that strength was failing. She didn't want to face it, but she had no choice.

Mark was abandoning her. He was pushing her away and she had no idea why.

Eclipse was right. The stories were stupid.

Mark didn't love her. He had tried to love her, but he couldn't. He didn't look at her the way he looked at Sprinkle. He comforted her, but it was only because she was a friend, nothing more. And she would never be that something more to him.

When Maple finally fell asleep, she was still crying.

* * *

><p>AN: well, that's the end of Day 5 and Round One. 48 chapters devoted to the longest section of the tournament (I'm counting from when they get to the island at Chapter 13). Introductions, back stories and fights galore, but no Mewtwo…<p>

Well….cya next time and thanks much for reading!


	63. Interlude: Mewtwo and the Pichu Twins

Interlude

_**Mewtwo…**_

The voice belonged to Arceus.

_**Mewtwo…**_

It was growing louder. Coming through the darkness.

The darkness of what? A dream? A vision? Mewtwo couldn't remember.

_You_, Mewtwo's rage was afire within him, but he was too weak to strike at Arceus. The god-Pokémon's presence taunted him. What was it doing in his mind? What did it want?

_**You must rest Mewtwo**_, Arceus's voice was soothing, but the tone only fanned Mewtwo's rage. He would not be pitied by his enemy.

_**You must rest Mewtwo**_, it began again, _**there is much you need to do. And much that you need to learn and see.**_

Riddles and lies, like always.

_Leave me_, Mewtwo tried to lash out with his psychic powers, but a flash of pain coursed through his brain. He screamed.

_**Rest**_, Arceus's voice began to fade back into the darkness, _**and have faith**_.

Then there was only darkness, for a second time.

* * *

><p>Mewtwo's mind was a haze when he first awoke. He could hear a voice shout out in delight and surprise. A blanket lay across him as he lied in bed. There was a light breeze blowing through a window somewhere to his left. Wind chimes were clanging outside and the air smelled of salt. He was somewhere close to the sea.<p>

He could not remember where he was. After speaking with Giratina about the Children of Jirachi, he had set out for Himitsu Island. The journey would be long and difficult, but he needed to reach it as soon as possible.

He began by heading south from the Cerulean Cave, flying higher than most bird Pokémon, to avoid detection. He paused often to rest, which made him grow frustrated. Two days into his journey he had still not left Kanto.

Speaking with Giratina had sapped more of his strength than he realized. The after-effects of visiting the Reverse World acted like a sickness. It grew stronger when he exerted himself and only rest made it subside.

But he would not be deterred. Jirachi was on Himitsu Island. If what Giratina told him was true, then the power he needed slept on that island. The key to challenging Arceus would only be to wake the tiny Pokémon and force it to grant his wish. It would be a simple task after speaking with Arceus and forcing his way into the Reverse World.

His goal was close. Easily obtainable. And yet Arceus was relentless in combating him. His strength ebbed as he approached the ocean. Once he began to cross it, there would be no turning back. The sickness that weakened his body was merely an attempt to delay him. A challenge set on him by the god Pokémon. It would not stop him from reaching his goal.

The last thing he remembered was the sea rushing up to meet him as his strength failed.

"It's okay, you're safe now," a human's face appeared through the haze. It was a girl, no older than thirteen or fourteen. Her hair was short and colored honey-blond. Her eyes were a bright, shining blue. But her ears were short and triangular, jutting from the top of her head, rather than the side. They were yellow, with a thick black border. They twitched rapidly, indicating the girl's excitement. She was a girl, but she was also a Pichu. A Child of Jirachi.

Mewtwo slipped back into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>He awoke again only a few hours later. The same sensations greeted him, except that the girl was not close by. The wind chimes clanged outside, not just one set but three or even four. Each one added a different tone into the air. It was a peaceful melody. There was no malice or unrest in the air. No gods taunting him and telling him to search his soul. This was a place of rest and peace.<p>

Gingerly, Mewtwo sat up. His movements were slow and weak. His own arms felt as though they could not lift themselves, yet somehow he managed. The late spring heat wafted in from outside, making Mewtwo very uncomfortable beneath the blanket. Too weak for physical exertion, he tested his psychic abilities. With a thought, the blanket was thrown aside, flapping in the air before floating onto the floor. Even with his body weakened, his mind remained strong.

"Oh!" the same girl from before cried out, "you're awake, again!" Mewtwo lifted his head to see the small girl standing a few feet away from the foot of the bed. She dressed plainly in a white apron overtop of a faded yellow dress. Both the apron and the dress were spotted with long-dried food stains.

"Don't try to get up!" the girl held up her hands, "I think you're sick. You had a really high fever when Will - that's my brother - when he brought you in." She spoke in a rush, but her tone was more excited than afraid. She whirled around, searching for something, "here! I made soup for when you woke up!"

Mewtwo's vision began to clear as the girl went to the kitchen. He surveyed his surroundings, checking for signs of danger. They were cramped close inside a small wooden hut. The kitchen was little more than a single bench top not ten feet away from the foot of the bed. There was no refrigerator, nor any lights at all. Aside from the bed, the only furniture was an unmatched pair of lawn chairs. Yet, the shack was warmly decorated. Every bare surface had at least one flower pot on it. There were three hand-made welcome signs on the back of the only door.

"Here you go!" the Pichu-girl thrust out a small, steaming bowl. She held it in a pair of oven mitts designed to look like a Pikachu. The thumbs resembled lightning-bolt shaped tails.

"Oh, wait!" the girl's eyes darted around in panic, "I need…umm…a table or something to…oh!" She drew back in shock as the bowl lifted out of her hands and drifted over in front of Mewtwo. Still too weak to lift his arms, he called on his psychic powers to help spoon the soup into his mouth. The soup was mostly broth with only a few bits of carrots and celery, but it was warm. He could feel his strength returning as he sipped at it. It would serve.

As Mewtwo drank his soup, the Pichu-girl pulled over one of the lawn chairs. She sat on it backwards, peering over the top at him. Her blue eyes were wide with fascination. Mewtwo did his best to ignore that.

_How long was I unconscious_? Mewtwo asked, speaking directly into the girl's mind.

"Y-you can talk?!" she was, once again, more excited than afraid.

_Yes,_ he answered. Technically, he was not speaking, only directing his thoughts towards her. If he tried to speak, he would only make the same carnal noises than most Pokémon did. Though he understood it, his vocal cords were not capable of human speech.

"Oh, wow! That's so cool!" the Pichu-girl exclaimed, "So, I guess you're a psychic-type then, right?" Grinning widely, she unconsciously nodded as if to answer for him.

_I am_, Mewtwo confirmed.

"I knew it!" she cried, "as soon as you lifted the bowl, I knew it!" She bounced happily.

She seemed to forget about his question, so he asked again, _how long was I unconscious_?

"Oh, right, sorry," the girl flushed, "umm…it's been two days since we found you. Well, I found you and Will brought you in. Will's my brother. But I guess I said that already…oh! My name's Anne, by the way!"

_You have a human name_? Mewtwo narrowed his gaze at her. She claimed that Will was her brother, most likely another Child of Jirachi. Could he trust creatures like this? How much of them was human?

"Umm…yeah," Anne stopped bouncing as she explained, "well, we had other names before we evolved, but Will thought we should have human names since we're part human now," She paused, as if to omit something from her story, "oh, I should explain what we are. Well, what we _think _we are, anyway."

_There's no need_, Mewtwo shook his head, _I already know_. If what Giratina had told him was true, then it was likely that he knew more than what Anne did. Most of these creatures had no idea that Jirachi had created them.

"Oh…umm…okay," Anne nodded, "good, I guess…" her gaze lowered before she finished, "umm…you're not mad, are you? A lot of other Pokémon seem mad at us…"

_No_, Mewtwo lied, _no, I'm not angry with you_. There was no true reason for him to dislike the Pichu-girl. She had done nothing wrong and had most likely saved his life. And yet, he still felt an instinctive hatred buried within him as he looked at her. The Children of Jirachi evolved into this new form of their own free will. They left behind their previous lives to transform into a human. What Pokémon would do that to themselves?

"Oh, good…" Anne breathed a long sigh of relief. She settled back and resumed watching Mewtwo as he finished his soup. But it was only another minute before she asked, "So…what kind of Pokémon are you? I've never seen anything quite like you before."

_Is it truly important_? Mewtwo despised this question. What he was was an abomination. A twisted freak made by humans that no longer belonged to anything. He was no more a true Pokémon than the half-human girl across from him.

"Oh…well…I guess not," Anne's Pichu-ears drooped. Then she sniffed the air, taking deep breaths.

_What are you doing_? Mewtwo asked.

"It's okay," Anne smiled, "you don't have to tell me what you are. I trust you."

_Why_? He narrowed his gaze in suspicion. The girl was strange. Every word she said gushed with cheer.

"Because you have a nice smell," she blushed, "it's hard to describe…but I've smelled it before. My trainer smells the same way."

_How is that_? Mewtwo hated the idea that he could smell like a human. What was this foolish girl suggesting?

"It smells like hope…"

_Hope doesn't have a smell_.

"Yes it does!" Anne pouted, "And it smells like you!" She turned away in childish determination.

Mewtwo turned back to his soup. The Pichu-girl was stubborn, childish, and naïve. She was young, which was obviously not helping her. But it went beyond that. Too much of her reminded Mewtwo of humans. After all, it hadn't been cruelty that motivated the experiments that had been done to him. No, those scientists wanted something more. They dreamed that their experiments would lead to something greater. But they had failed and Mewtwo was the product of it.

Sometimes hope could create disaster.

_Thank you for the soup_, Mewtwo finished eating and sent the bowl floating back over towards Anne.

"You're welcome," she rubbed at her eyes before standing up and taking it over to the sink.

Mewtwo began to look around the hut, once more. Anne had said that she had a brother and a trainer. Yet this tiny hut couldn't possibly be meant to house all three of them. Spread out across the floor, there were two other places where someone had slept recently. Two pillows and two blankets. Not three.

_Your brother also lives with you_? Mewtwo asked.

"Yep," Anne returned to her seat, "it's just temporary, though. Until Brian - that's our trainer - until he can convince his parents we can live with them."

Temporary. That was what she claimed, but everywhere Mewtwo looked, there were signs that said otherwise. The flowers, the decorations, the wind chimes outside. All of them were meant to be permanent.

_How long have you been here_? He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Four months," Anne answered. Too long…much too long. "We moved out here because we were having trouble controlling our electricity."

Mewtwo nodded. Pichu were not very strong Pokémon. It often took a long time for them to master their electrical abilities. Even once they did, accidental discharges were common. They could, and often did, shock themselves. A part-human version would only cause more damage and be more difficult to control at the same time.

"So, we moved out here," Anne continued, "it belongs to Brian's family. It's where their maid used to stay. Their summer house is just up over the hill, there."

_A maid lives here?_

"Well, used to," Anne shrugged, "she…they had to let her go two years ago. All of her stuff was taken out, but the building was still here. So, Brian said we could use it until he could come get us."

_I see_, Mewtwo nodded. It was an unusually kind gesture for a human. Could it be possible that…no, he couldn't believe it. Four months was too long, even for a child. Something was wrong. But Mewtwo had other concerns. _And where are we?_

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot," Anne blushed again, "this is Cinnabar Island. You…know where that is, right?"

_Yes, I know_, Mewtwo answered.

Cinnabar. Four days had already been wasted and he was still in Kanto. Such pathetic progress. Worse, he was still weak and unfit to travel across the ocean to Himitsu Island. On the other hand, he had been lucky to find himself here. He could have easily died in the middle of the ocean or been overcome by sickness and never woken up. Or his greatest fear, been washed ashore and caught by a human trainer. A miserable end to his war against Arceus.

But none of those things had happened. He was here, being watched over by one of the rare and mysterious Children of Jirachi. What kind of ploy was Arceus throwing at him now? What cruel joke did the god Pokémon want him to see?

"It wasn't easy for us to get here," Anne interrupted Mewtwo's thoughts, "we had to come from Saffron to get here. Brian couldn't help us, but he knew we'd be safe here."

_You came from Saffron City_? Mewtwo asked, once more suspicious of the Pichu-girl's situation.

"Yeah," she nodded, "me and Will came south and took a ship from Fuchsia City to get here. We…worked whenever we could. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to afford the ship."

_I see_, Mewtwo nodded. That was the last piece of the puzzle. Their trainer wasn't coming. The boy had not expected his human Pokémon to make the journey. He had tricked them into leaving and never expected to see them again. But he had underestimated their devotion. They made the journey at immense risk and made themselves a new home while they waited. And they would keep waiting.

Such loyalty and devotion. Only Pokémon were capable of that. And only a human would be capable of the cruelty that their trainer had shown them.

Mewtwo could only pity this girl.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Anne exclaimed, "Will should be home soon! He works most of the day, but he'll be home in just a few more minutes!"

_Your brother?_

"Yeah," she nodded, "he has to keep his ears hidden, though. So, he works odd jobs around the city. Anybody that'll hire him without asking too many questions. That way we can eat." It was odd how much good cheer she spoke with. Their lives were not easy, but the girl sounded as if she was pretending they were.

_How old is your brother_? Mewtwo asked.

"Well…it depends," Anne shrugged, "we're two years old, but Will says we're actually fourteen. Oh, we're twins, by the way. He looks just like me! Except…you know…he's a boy. You'll like him. Like I said, he carried you inside so we could look after you."

_I will have to thank him then_, Mewtwo told her.

Two small children were living here. Twin Pichu that were both part human. Living in hiding and waiting for the trainer that wasn't going to come. Once again, he felt an undeniable rage towards Arceus. What kind of god wanted children to suffer like this? What had they done?

But why should he care? Mewtwo wasn't even supposed to be there. He was supposed to be on his way across the ocean, not worrying about the lives of two Children of Jirachi. He couldn't stop to heal their wounds. The best way would be to press onward. He could only help them by leaving.

But he did not possess the strength. Not yet. If he tried crossing the ocean in his current state, he would fail again. And the next time would cost his life. He needed rest and this was the best place to get it. Anne and her brother would not betray him.

"He's back! I can hear him!" Anne suddenly exclaimed. She rushed to the door and threw it wide, bouncing on her heels as she waved.

Moments later, a young boy wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt that covered his head came through the door, brushing Anne aside.

"Close the door," he snapped at her, "and cover your ears up! How many times do I have to tell you?" Not until the door was safely closed did he throw back his hood, revealing his own yellow and black ears.

"And bring the wind chimes in," he added, "You know that nobody's supposed to live here. What if somebody saw?"

"I'm sorry," Anne shied away from her brother, "did you find any work?"

"Not today," Will shook his head, "I think people are starting to get suspicious of me. They don't like that my hood's always up."

"Oh…" Anne nodded, thought not entirely surprised. But she brightened when she remembered Mewtwo, "oh! Will! Our guest woke up today!"

"Huh?" the Pichu-boy noticed the strange Pokémon sitting in their only bed for the first time, "yeah, I guess he is," he paused before adding, "Do you have any idea what he is?"

Anne shook her head, "he doesn't want to talk about it."

"Talk?"

_I'm told that I should thank you for saving me_, Mewtwo spoke into the boy's mind.

"A psychic, huh?" the boy's reaction was much more subdued than the girl's. "Anyway, don't thank me. Anne's the one who found you and begged me to take you in." His tone suggested that if it were up to him, he would've left Mewtwo where he found him.

_I won't be staying long_, Mewtwo assured him. _One more night at the most_. He couldn't be sure if that was all the time he needed, but it was all the time he would take.

"As long as you're up to it," Will shrugged, "sounds fine with me."

"No, no!" Anne interjected, "Will, don't force him out!" She turned to Mewtwo, "you can stay as long as you want. We don't mind."

Mewtwo doubted that. Anne's good-hearted and naïve nature would let him stay, but her brother was the opposite. Will had wanted him gone two days ago, but Anne had somehow convinced her brother that she could look after Mewtwo herself.

And yet her brother's cold, hard realism had led them here. Into this tiny shack to wait for their trainer. Was it just that he had no other options? Or was the brother just as blind as the sister?

"Will, please, let him stay," Anne pleaded with her brother, "he's not hurting anything."

The Pichu-boy looked from his sister to the strange Pokémon sitting in their bed. He didn't trust it. Its whole appearance was alien to him. It looked like no Pokémon he had ever seen.

"Alright," he conceded, "he can stay." Anne grinned with delight, "But only until Brian comes to get us. They'll be here soon and he's going to have enough trouble looking after the two of us already."

"Yay!" Anne clapped quietly and hugged her brother.

_When is your trainer supposed to come back for you_?

"I'm not sure, exactly," Will admitted, "whenever they come here for the summer. It's usually around this time." The doubt in his voice was stronger than his sister's, but he shared her stubborn optimism. Was it only the Children of Jirachi that had this much faith in humans? Or were all captured Pokémon like this?

_Have you ever visited the house_? Mewtwo challenged, though he did so politely. He did not want to fight these two and in his weakened state. There was nowhere else to go. Still, the veil over their eyes needed to be lifted. They needed to see the truth, no matter how much they denied it.

"No," Will shook his head, his fear was palpable this time, "no, it's too dangerous. Brian will come, though. He promised."

_I see._

Mewtwo had heard everything he cared to about their kind, devoted trainer. But if they would do nothing, then he must do something.

He closed his eyes to concentrate his powers. He felt around the shack, mentally prodding at the furniture and the walls and the two Children of Jirachi. Then he expanded outward, going through the walls, touching the wind chimes that Anne had forgotten about. He spread across the beach, reaching outward. A few Krabby scuttled along the shores, but he passed over them. He found the ocean and stopped his search in that direction. He shifted his focus inland, searching for the house that Anne had mentioned.

He found it just a mile inland, over the hill behind the shack. It was a mid-sized house. Two bedrooms. One for the adults, one for the children. He prodded with his psychic powers, seeping through the walls. He searched for the occupants.

"What is he doing?" Will's voice was muffled in his head, but it shook his concentration all the same.

"I don't know," Anne's voice joined her brother's, "this is the first time I've seen him do this…"

Mewtwo ignored them and continued his search. He found the humans he was looking for. A mother, a father, and three children. He ignored the parents and looked more closely at the children. The oldest was a boy, maybe eleven or twelve; the other two were girls, seven and nine. Anne and Will had not mentioned siblings, but it meant little to Mewtwo. He closed in on the boy. He noticed nothing as Mewtwo opened his mind, searching through his memories.

His name was Brian Verdant. Though his family was wealthy, his life was hard. At least, he believed it was. He was small for his age and not particularly skilled at sports or at books. Though he had friends his own age, he often dreamed of having friends that were older than him.

And there was a memory of two of his Pokémon evolving into a girl and a boy, just a few years older than himself. He had thought that it was a wish come true, but the two were a disaster. They were Pichu that could not control their electricity. They destroyed his room by sheer accident and he had barely survived himself. But the two had fled the room, leaving the boy alone to answer for the destruction. He had been angry enough to hope that they never returned, but they were back the next morning and still had no more control over their electrical powers.

Just a day later, the two were coherent enough for him to give them instructions to leave. It was a plan that he had thought of before if he ever needed to run away. He used it instead to rid himself of the walking disasters.

Ever since then, he had been doing his best to forget about the two human Pokémon. He would be going to a private high school in just a few more years and had plenty of young, innocent dreams of what he wanted for the future. His human Pichu felt like a distant nightmare.

Just before Mewtwo pulled away, he noticed something else. Close by where the boy sat in his room, two Pichu, not more than a month or two old, were scurrying around the room.

Mewtwo opened his eyes and looked at the two Children of Jirachi that had been left behind.

_I'm sorry_, he told them.

"Sorry for what?" Anne's expression was filled with terror.

In a rare stroke of sympathy that he didn't understand, Mewtwo did not tell them.

* * *

><p>Mewtwo's strength returned quickly in the next two days. Though he spent most of his time in bed or asleep, Anne was always close by and delighted in talking to him. She talked about everything. The weather, recipes that she'd been learning, the flowers around the shack and the wind chimes that Will had bought her, the welcome signs that she had hand-made, their journey to the island, everything. But she did not talk about Brian.<p>

She learned not to ask questions, either. Mewtwo told her nothing, but only asked her questions to keep the one-sided conversation going. She seemed to continually need to be prompted or she would lapse into silence, thinking that Mewtwo was growing frustrated with her. However, keeping the girl in high-spirits was an easy task and Mewtwo obliged her.

He decided that there was no reason for him to hate these Children of Jirachi. These two, in particular, had simply made a poor decision to trust the humans that they had grown attached to. Why they had developed that feeling to begin with was beyond Mewtwo's understanding, but he did not view it as grounds to hate them.

They needed guidance. Once Mewtwo accomplished his goal of defeating Arceus, he could offer that guidance and save them all. They were not too far gone. Perhaps the Children of Jirachi could even serve as a replacement for the humans.

As Anne chattered away and nursed her patient, Mewtwo used his psychic power to watch for danger. With the family returned to their summer home, it was most likely just a matter of time before one of them came out to check on the little hut by the ocean. So far, however, they kept their distance and so did the human Pichu.

But he did not simply watch the house. He and Anne were relatively safe inside the shack, but it was Will who put himself in danger each day. The only thing protecting his identity was the hood of a yellow sweatshirt. If it should come off for any reason, Will could be in a great deal of danger. For this reason, Mewtwo kept a psychic link on Will at all times, monitoring for any signs of distress. The two children were in a very vulnerable position.

_**There is much you need to do**_, Mewtwo remembered the words of Arceus from his dream, _**and much you need to see and learn**_. Even thinking about it made Mewtwo furious. What was he to the god Pokémon? A tool? A plaything? A source of amusement meant to pass the time?

But when he thought about the words…could this have been what Arceus had meant? Surely his power was needed here to protect these two. But he couldn't stay, wouldn't stay. Jirachi called to him. He needed that power, then he could save all Pokémon from their human tormentors, whether they were Children of Jirachi or not.

He would have to abandon Anne and Will at some point. It was best not to get attached to them.

Still, there was nothing he could do while he recovered. He could defend them until then. Repay their hospitality and thank them for saving his life. Perhaps he would return when he was successful and grant them all the happiness that a god could bestow on a creation.

Mewtwo grimaced to himself. His own thoughts sounded weak and pathetic. He was too strong for sentimentality, had suffered through too much. The suffering of these children living alone on the beach paled in comparison with his own tortured past. He had forgotten himself. He belonged nowhere. Not with these children, not anywhere.

On the morning of the second day after he awoke, Mewtwo was finally feeling strong enough to leave. The lingering sickness from the Reverse World was gone and his strength was almost fully restored.

"So, you're leaving us?" Anne's voice was filled with childish disappointment, though it no longer annoyed Mewtwo.

_Yes_, Mewtwo told her, _there's something that I need to do across the ocean_.

"The ocean?!" the Pichu-girl exclaimed, "don't you need a boat?"

_No need,_ to demonstrate, Mewtwo used his psychic powers to raise himself out of the bed, rather than standing. _I can fly as high as most bird Pokémon and I only need to stop half as often to rest._

"Wow…" Anne grinned, "That's cool. I wish I could fly…"

"And I wish I could find a job," Will grumbled as he fitted on a pair of brown boots he had fished out of a garbage bin. It had been three days since he had found a job that would take him. Normally he could find work moving furniture, cutting hedges or some other small job that would accept a teenager without asking too many questions. If anyone asked him whether or not he should be in school, he had no choice but to leave the job. Without written permission, it was illegal for him to work. Will would have gotten what he needed a long time ago, if only he could read.

Suddenly, an idea struck Mewtwo. A parting gift for the two kids that helped him.

_I may be able to help with that_, Mewtwo smirked, _and I could get work for both of you_.

Anne sprang to attention in a moment, perhaps too eager to help.

Will had protested at first, but had to concede when he considered how much they needed the money. Without any lights in their house, they could go without electricity, but soon they wouldn't have enough money to buy food. The situation was becoming desperate and Will was forced to admit that he couldn't rely on his day-to-day jobs.

Mewtwo insisted that he could accomplish his task from the shack, so it was just the boy and the girl that left. The two made their way along the beach, heading for the boardwalk at the southern side of the island. As they walked past the shops and tourist attractions, they searched for a "Help Wanted" sign. Mewtwo said that any one would do, so long as they liked the work. He would handle the rest.

Anne spotted a small shop that was selling local aquatic Pokémon. Krabby, Staryu, and Horsea drifted in tanks, waiting to be paired with a Pokéball and sold to a trainer or perhaps a child that wanted one as a pet. There were no Tentacool, because the jellyfish was so common that all a trainer needed to do was walk twenty feet along the beach and they'd find one. Mewtwo thought it was disgusting, but it was this shop that the two siblings settled on.

They approached the shopkeeper and asked about the sign.

"I dunno," the crusty owner rubbed his chin in indecision. He smelled like seaweed. At least that meant that the Pokémon were freshly caught. "How old are you two kids?"

That was when Mewtwo set to work. He prodded through the man's mind, searching for what he needed. But this was not the first time that he had done this.

"Uh…sir?" Will was afraid to touch the man. Without warning, he had gone suddenly rigid and his eyes glazed over. He slumped forward as if he had fallen asleep while standing up. A moment later, he stood up straight up again, his eyes slightly out of focus, but otherwise perfectly healthy.

"Tell ya what?" the man began, "you two look like good kids. I'll try you out for the first day and if you do a good job, we'll forget all about that fancy legal business. Sound like a deal?"

Anne clutched her hands in exhilaration while Will's mouth hung open. Mewtwo had just gotten them both good, well-paying jobs with no questions asked.

"Uhh…should we be doing this?" Will asked the air, not sure where to direct his question.

_It'll be fine_, Mewtwo told the boy, _as far as he's concerned, you're both eighteen and can work for as long as you want. I'll have him forge the paperwork to make it legal later. That way, if anyone finds out he'll be the only one to get in any trouble_.

"That's…" Will wanted to say that it was immoral, criminal and downright cruel. But what choice did he have? Another week without work and they wouldn't be able to afford food. And besides, Mewtwo was giving them the chance to work for it. They weren't _stealing _the money. They were just…opening a window so they could fend for themselves. That wasn't _as_ bad, right?

Anne was quivering with anticipation next to him as the shop owner produced brooms for the two of them. Their first task was to sweep the floor and she looked as though she was born to sweep dust out of a crappy, boardwalk shop.

"Thanks," Will sighed, after he took his own broom.

_I'll watch over you until the day's over_, Mewtwo assured him, _after that you should be fine on your own._

The two were fine for most of the day. The shopkeeper gave them simple tasks to start with. Sweeping, cleaning empty tanks, running down the boardwalk to get him a soda. Easy jobs. On the whole, the shop wasn't very busy either. The Pokémon he sold were expensive. For every ten times a child exclaimed about the pretty Horsea in the tank, there were nine times where the parents took one glance at the price and kept walking.

When a customer did buy one, the shop owner conducted the sale while Will and Anne took turns fishing out the Pokémon. They kept Dive Balls on hand, which were powerful enough to hold the unevolved water Pokémon without needing to weaken them. Retrieving one was as simple as putting the Pokéball on the end of a rod, climbing up onto a short ladder to reach the tank, and jabbing the selected Pokémon with the Pokéball. It was a much easier system than either of them had expected.

Still, neither Anne, nor Will, nor Mewtwo had anticipated what happened next.

Around noon, the shop's peak business hours hit. The boardwalk was crawling with tourists and small children were everywhere. The shop seemed to flood with customers, crammed into the tiny space. Will and Anne were both frantically diving for Pokémon to fill orders. At the rate they were going, the shop would sell out in only two more hours.

"No, no, no!" a child whined around Anne's ankles as she stood on top of the ladder over the Staryu tank, "I want that one!" He pointed to one in the center of the tank, nestled at the bottom, while several others spun back and forth above it, directly in her path.

"Okay…" Anne bit her lip as she watched, hoping for an opening.

"Come _on_!" the boy whined.

"Just a second," Anne reassured the boy. The only way for her to get that specific Staryu would be to come at it from an angle. Maybe she could get it from the side and avoid the others. She stretched to the side, trying to angle the rod in just the right way…

She didn't know what jarred the ladder, but suddenly her feet slipped and she was falling forward. Her first instinct was to grab onto something. The only thing within reach was the tank. She grabbed onto the edge, trying to hold herself up, but her weight was too much. The little boy that had been with her only had a moment to get out of the way.

The tank crashed down on top of her. Glass shattered everywhere, most of it onto Anne herself. Her shirt was cut in a dozen different places and several pieces were jammed into her hands. Her blood mixed with the water as it rushed onto the floor. The Staryu from the tank flopped on the floor nearby. Screams started to fill the air. But nothing was as bad as when Anne lost control of her electricity.

_No!_ Mewtwo stood bolt upright inside the seaside hut. The door exploded off of its hinges as he burst through and shot into the sky, flying directly towards the shop.

The Staryu flopping on the floor flopped faster and faster as Anne's Thundershock flowed unchecked from her damaged body. She whimpered as her own electricity rebounded on her. It coursed through her soaking wet frame, making her shake uncontrollably. People were screaming and running all around her. She could only pray that she wasn't hurting anyone else.

_Run_, she pleaded with whoever was listening, _run. Don't worry about me. Just run away and be safe!_

Suddenly, Will was holding her, gritting his teeth as she shocked him without meaning to.

"_I can't stop_!" Anne screamed into her brother's face.

"I know! I know!" Will screamed back. He had to get her off of the wet floor. Her clothes were still soaked, but maybe if he could get her off of the floor it would help. He scooped up his sister in his arms and raced to the entrance. Outside, away from the water. It was the only way.

He only just made it outside before his own body began to go numb. He couldn't move and he couldn't stop Anne's electricity. The only consolation he had was that no else could be hurt. The worst was over. So, he just held his sister and waited for it to be over.

When it was finally done, Will collapsed to his knees. He sucked in a few deep breaths, grateful for that small token. Anne began to cry in his arms.

She wasn't the only one, either. The boardwalk was filled with whimpers and screams of pain and shock. Will risked a glance back at the shop, afraid to see smoldering bodies amidst the ruined shop. But there were none. By the grace of sweet Arceus above, no one had been severely injured during the accident.

Will looked around at the crowded boardwalk. There were a dozen men, women and children huddled around the area. Most had been in the shop and were still in shock. A few had minor cuts from the flying glass or were clutching a shaking hand or foot that had been electrocuted. Such pain and suffering from an accident that could have happened to anyone.

Only Anne hadn't been just anyone. She was part Pichu and it made her dangerous whether she wanted to be or not. Will felt like crying himself. That was when he realized that the ears of both he and Anne were plainly visible to the crowd.

Electricity. Coursing through the ground and shaking the two of them though they were nowhere near a power source.

They knew. Every single person in that crowd knew what they were.

"Hey! What the hell just happened here?!"

Will looked down the length of the boardwalk to see a male police officer rushing over to get a closer look at the chaos. A Growlithe ran by his side, but when someone shouted out "a bomb! It must have been a bomb!" the officer's gun was out in a flash. He started running faster.

"Them! Them!" someone shouted, pointing at Will as he clutched his wounded sister, "I saw it! She was in the middle of the whole thing, but she got out somehow!"

"What the hell are they?!"

"What are those ears?!"

"Why didn't they get shocked?!"

The police officer stopped and raised his gun at Will.

"PUT THE GIRL DOWN!" he screamed.

"Will?" Anne whimpered in his arms, "What's going on?"

Mewtwo landed between the two Children of Jirachi and the police officer. An unsteady murmur rippled through the crowd of onlookers at the appearance of the strange Pokémon. No one had seen anything like it before.

The police officer took a step back and leveled his gun at the strange Pokémon. Its cold eyes stared at him with absolute contempt. His grip on the gun began to shake while the Growlithe at his side seemed much more willing to run than to fight. They were meant to help in case a criminal used a Pokémon, but no matter how brave they were, they knew their limits and could sense an enemy they could not defeat.

"You came for us?" Anne asked from behind him, overjoyed that he had come to rescue them.

_Don't be afraid_, he told them, _I'll get you out of here_.

Anne looked between Mewtwo's legs and his thick tail to see the police officer. There was a lot of fear in his eyes. She sniffed the air, looking for hope.

"Stand aside!" the officer commanded Mewtwo, but he would have better luck commanding the tides, "stand aside or I'll shoot!"

_Turn away_, Mewtwo's voice filled the officer's head, _turn away now. I'm taking these children home. Try to stop us and I will not hold back! _

Mewtwo watched the fool and waited. So quick to judge, to pass blame on what they didn't understand. It had been an accident; a situation that Mewtwo could easily fix, but for this one simple-minded fool.

Mewtwo gave him one chance, but he didn't take it.

The gunshot echoed for miles up and down the boardwalk, but even before it was over, the bullet that had been fired was spinning harmlessly on the ground by Mewtwo's feet.

_I warned you_, Mewtwo told the police officer.

It was quick. The police officer felt nothing but a quick jolt through his brain, then everything shut off at once. His muscles went limp and he collapsed forward onto the boardwalk.

Anne stared at the fallen police officer.

"Is…is he…?"

_We're leaving_, Mewtwo told her. He turned towards them, grabbed a hold of Will's sweatshirt and lifted both of them into the air.

Tears started to well up in Anne's eyes as she watched the police officer's Growlithe begin to paw at his master's fallen body.

Anne was still screaming when the three of them landed outside the beach-side shack.

"YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM!" she reached for Mewtwo and tried to call up Thundershock, but all of her electricity was spent. She screamed and cried on the sand, her entire body screamed with pain and she was bleeding from a dozen different places, but it all meant she was still alive.

"You didn't have to do that…" Will gaped at Mewtwo, but the Pokémon ignored him.

He bent forward, opening Anne's hands to look at the glass embedded in them. Concentrating and looking for each piece, no matter how small, he removed them all as painlessly as he could. But he knew that Anne wasn't screaming because of the pain.

Pokémon were strange creatures when death was concerned. It was commonplace for captured Pokémon to mourn their trainers and even humans that were total strangers. But even wild Pokémon were known to mourn the deaths of humans they had come in contact with.

Mewtwo supposed that he should feel remorse, but he didn't. It wasn't the first time he had killed. The first time had been during his escape. There was no telling how many died when he fled that laboratory. And yet, he hadn't felt remorse then, either. Was that something that they had done to him? Or was that a part of him that had always been there?

"_What the hell are we supposed to do now_?!" Will screamed at him. Though more coherent than his sister, there were tears in his eyes as well. "_They're going to blame us for this! We just became criminals! Just what the hell did you think you were doing_?!"

_Saving your life_, Mewtwo told him. He was a child. He didn't understand.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" Anne screamed until her throat was dry.

_Listen_, Mewtwo told them both, _I can get you somewhere safe, away from this place_.

"WE DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!" Will screamed at him, "_You did this to us! We were happy! Brian was going to come get us! But now all of that's gone_!"

_Brian was going to do nothing_, Mewtwo confessed the secret to the Pichu-twins, _he told you to go out into the world expecting you to never come back! That is what humans will do to you! Now, LISTEN TO ME!_

"Go away…" Anne sobbed. She turned her face up to look at him, her eyes bleary with tears, "please…just go away…"

Mewtwo had no choice, then. He grabbed the collars of each of them and rose into the air. He shot northward. Never before or since did he ever fly faster or harder. That much was a relief. He was fully recovered and well prepared to make the journey south to Himitsu Island.

He reached the shore south of Pallet Town within two hours.

There, he left the two siblings. They were both sobbing and alone, but they were safe.

_You may not realize it now_, Mewtwo said to them, _but one day you will thank me_.

With that, he rose into the air one last time and began to fly south.

Anne and Will held each other and trembled as they watched him go.

* * *

><p>AN: sorry I'm a day late on this one. I needed to take some extra time to edit the whole thing. there were a lot of italics to add.<p>

I hope I didn't disappoint with the return of Mewtwo. It's been so long I'm afraid that I won't be able to live up to expectations.

and I made another minor mistake in the last chapter. I said that Eclipse, Jitter and Maple were all born at the same time. Not true. Eclipse was born in the spring, Jitter in the summer and Maple in the fall. Not hugely important (not yet, anyway) but they are her _older_ brothers. Rather than Will and Anne who were born together and I get to call them twins that way.

oh, yeah, Mewtwo COULD just read their minds and not ask any questions, but he's pretty much just being polite.

Anyways, I think that's everything I wanted to say. thanks much for reading! And I hope you stick around for Round Two!


	64. Rachel

Chapter 62

"You have a Salamence?!" the bright chirping voice of a young girl sounded off to Tempest's left. She was pretty, by human standards. Her auburn hair was almost absurdly long, down to her waist, and her eyes were a bright shade of green. Tempest narrowed her gaze at the newcomer, lowering her pointed head to the ground.

"Uh…y-yeah," Tempest's trainer stammered as he watched the girl. There was an odd, unsteady quality to his voice.

"Oh, that's awesome!" the girl bounced, making her hair puff up. Tempest watched it float back down, as gentle as leaves falling in autumn. "Nobody ever brings any dragons here!"

"Really? That's-"

"What's his name?" the girl cut off Tempest's trainer, but he didn't seem to mind. What was more; she made the mistake of assuming Tempest was male. She wanted this girl gone, immediately.

"Well, it's…well…" her trainer stammered, hesitating for some reason she couldn't understand.

"I'm sorry," the girl paused to peer at the boy by Tempest's side, "what'd you say?"

"She."

"Huh?" the girl blinked.

"My Salamence is a she," Tempest thoroughly enjoyed the look of shock on the girl's face, "Her name is Tempest."

"Oh…oh, I'm sorry, Tempest. I didn't know."

Well, at least she apologized. Most people didn't care whether or not they insulted her. They just kept right on talking or battling or doing whatever they were doing without a second thought. A grievous mistake when it was a dragon that they had angered.

"It's okay…it…happens a lot," Tempest's trainer forgave the girl all too easily.

"Umm…is it okay if I come a bit closer?"

"Oh, sure," the boy offered, shocking Tempest more and more as this absurd situation escalated, "I mean…I think it's okay. She can be…a bit touchy around strangers."

"Uhh…okay. Well, here goes," the girl began to walk closer. Her eyes were, rightfully, wide with fear. Tempest snarled at her as she approached. Just a few more feet and she could bite her arm off. She snapped at the air in warning.

The girl let out a sharp, startled squeak and drew back.

"Tempest," the voice of her trainer had an unexpected edge to it.

He was standing by her shoulder, but with her head lowered to the ground, she had to peer up at him. His voice was calm, his eyes stern and commanding. The opposite of what he was in front of this small, weak little girl.

"Tempest," he said again, "be nice."

So she was.

She let the girl approach. She placed her hand on top of Tempest's head. It trembled at first, and then grew steady as Tempest obeyed her trainer's command.

"She's…warm," the girl said, somewhat surprised. She began to stroke Tempest's head, even more surprised by the smoothness of the scales. The girl's hands were soft to the touch and she was gentle and respectful as she stroked her. At least she was decent at that.

"Yeah, it's…" Tempest's trainer searched for words, "that's…well, dragons are warm-blooded. Not like…lizards, or…other stuff. Dragon Pokémon, anyway, I mean."

"I see…" the girl began to smile again as Tempest tolerated her touch. She wanted this girl to go away, but her trainer wanted her to stay. This was supposed to be a training session, but the girl had interrupted and the boy was forgetting why they had come.

"So…uhh…" once again, that nervousness took him over, "do you…uhh…live here?"

"Huh?" the girl started, "oh, yep! All my life. Born and raised here. It's quiet, but it's pretty."

"Yeah, it is," the boy nodded, looking away.

"You're with that boy…Ed, right?"

"Yeah. We're sort of Pokémon trainers." The girl smiled, amused by the idea of a "sort of" Pokémon trainer.

"Me too, actually," the girl replied, "well, except for the traveling part," she sighed before continuing, "Why'd you guys come to Himitsu Island? It's not exactly famous and there's no gym or tournament or anything."

"Somebody told Ed that this was the last place anybody saw Jirachi," the boy shrugged. His voice grew steadier as the conversation went on.

"Jirachi? I thought Jirachi wasn't real."

"Beats me. But there's all kinds of Pokémon legends. It doesn't seem right that they'd all be wrong."

The girl smiled again, "do you think you'll stay long?"

"I don't know. Depends on if we find anything."

"Oh, alright," at last, the girl stopped stroking Tempest's head and looked around, "I guess I'd better go. It was nice meeting you," she turned to the dragon, "and it was nice meeting you, Tempest." The Salamence scowled at her again.

"Oh…uhh…okay…" the boy stammered as the girl started bounding away, "wait! What's your name?!"

"My name?" she spun as she turned to look back, making her hair swirl again, "it's Rachel!"

* * *

><p>Eight years had passed since they had met, on that day. Eight years and the memory was still fresh.<p>

Flurry had told Tempest that she couldn't remember much of her life as a Glaceon, but Tempest was different. Maybe there were a few hazy spots from when she was a Bagon and a Shelgon, but most of those were memories she could do without anyway. None of the important memories started until she met Sky.

Himitsu Island was far below her as she glided through the air. In those eight years, it had undergone just as many changes as Tempest, River and Sky had. Eight years ago it was a calm, quiet, peaceful fishing village filled with local lore and superstition over the strange forest and volcano. The forest and the volcano remained untouched, but the fishing village was a city now. A tourist trap that survived on the human Pokémon tournament. A tournament that could barely even fund itself.

Tempest could see everything from this height. Her eyesight was good enough to distinguish between human and human Pokémon from a mile up. She could watch the entire island, but she doubted it would help anything.

Whisper could _be_ anything. Sky had warned them all about it already. Zoroark could disguise themselves as any Pokémon. And Whisper had already proved that he could change into a human Pokémon. Even if they found him, he could change right back, undoing all the effort it took to find him the first time.

_It'll be like searching for a needle in a haystack_, Sky had told his search team, _except even when you sit on the needle, it changes itself to look like a piece of hay again_. He didn't have much confidence, but at least they could keep Whisper from attacking people openly.

It was no help that Whisper was a dark-type as well. The psychics, Astral and Farsight, wouldn't be able to find him even if they wanted to.

Speaking of the rest of Sky's human Pokémon, Tempest would not be shocked if she was the only one trying to find Whisper. All but she and Flurry had stopped listening to Sky as early as two years ago. They hated him and Tempest's threats were the only thing that kept them in line. Quickstep had been the first to try to leave, which was especially disheartening now because the human Mienshao would be the ideal choice to fight a Zoroark. The best choice and he was probably just goofing off.

Wait…never mind "probably," she could see him from here.

"Asshole," she muttered as she pulled up. She brought her gentle glide to a stop and hovered over the city, flapping her dark red wings to steady herself.

What to do? She could crash down on him and force him to search, but he'd stop again as soon as he thought Tempest wasn't watching. On the other hand, she was starting to get bored herself and scaring the daylights out of him might help to alleviate that.

Quickstep was a moron and a jackass, but maybe he had the right idea. They had already wasted a full day searching and come up with nothing.

She should go back to the hotel room and check on Sky, Flurry and Ian. Flurry was still mentally shaken from battling Whisper. She hadn't spoken about it, but Tempest had seen enough of Whisper to know why. Flurry was strong, but her spirit often seemed fragile to Tempest. She was the type of person that wanted to see good in everyone. When she had been attacked with such cruelty and been treated like a toy, it shocked her very being. Tempest, on the other hand, had been strong enough to do the same to Whisper, but held back because Sky had taught her how to be better.

Sky had done that. The Sky that she admired, at least. The Sky that had commanded her in their first battle in nearly three years. Not the Sky that lapsed back into a depression just a day afterward. For one brief moment Sky hadn't been thinking about River, but only about the opponent that threatened those he cared about.

Sometimes, Tempest hated RiverofTears. If it hadn't been for her, Sky wouldn't be like this. He wouldn't shut himself off from the world, crawling away and hiding. But the hatred never lasted.

Tempest hadn't liked River from the very beginning. Sky was someone else around her, but more than that, River had intruded on her life. Tempest was happy as a Salamence. Happy with a trainer that would guide her to victory after victory in tournaments in every region and every city all around the world. If only they hadn't been interrupted by a little girl who had been amazed to see a Salamence in a tiny island town.

But if it weren't for that same little girl, then Tempest wouldn't have her human face eight years later.

RiverofTears was down there. Tempest could even see the mansion where she had once lived. Was she still there? What was she doing now? The people of this island had loved her, before and after all of her Pokémon became human. She could be anything she wanted and she was the only member of the Four to remain here.

Tempest gazed at the house a while longer. The key to getting the strong Sky back was in there. One meeting was all it would take. Failure or success decided in a moment. They might forgive each other and become friends again, maybe even fall in love. Or they might not. But no matter which outcome, the future would be decided. One moment, one meeting, and years of not knowing what might be would be over.

The dragon-lady began to shake. Every time she thought about what she planned to do, her heart began to race and her throat felt dry. Was this what Sky felt when he thought about seeing River? When he thought about the slim difference between happiness and misery?

Maybe she was crazy to be forcing this. She was as terrified as he was what might happen, but he must know as well as her that it was the only way.

One moment. The most terrifying moment she could imagine.

Tempest could no longer stand to look at the house below her. RiverofTears was in there, she was certain. But she wasn't certain what the young woman might be thinking.

* * *

><p>Rachel raised a hand up to block the sun. Luminous, her human Chandelure, had thrown the curtain wide, flooding her bedroom with unwelcome sunlight. She could only make out her butler's silhouette in the light, but she knew exactly what he looked like and it never changed. His suit and tie were a pure black, while his shirt was a light gray. However, on each shoulder, wrist, and on the top of his head, a total of five candles burned with an eerie blue flame. His eyes were a bright yellow made even more exotic from the light of the blue flames.<p>

"What time is it?" Rachel furrowed her brow as she waited for her head to adjust to the change in light.

"Seven o'clock, madam," Luminous answered.

"Don't call me that," Rachel lowered her hand, feeling like she could see again, "I feel old when you call me that." She sat up and looked into the mirror across the room. Seeing herself, and the color of her hair, reminded her of her other name.

"My apologies," he bowed and seemed to think a moment, "miss."

"Thank you," RiverofTears told her self-appointed butler.

"Shall I get your breakfast, miss?" he asked.

"Sure," the young woman tossed the covers aside and stretched.

"I will only be a moment, miss," Luminous bowed again before melting through the floor on his way to the kitchen.

Once he was gone, River readjusted the curtains to her liking and crossed to her dresser. Though her family had money and River often enjoyed wearing something a bit fancier than a t-shirt and jeans, she was still a Pokémon trainer. She dressed quickly, but another glance in the mirror re-confirmed her suspicions that her hair would take a while this morning.

Though not as long as she used to wear it, her thick, auburn hair took a lot of care to maintain. Still, she was proud of it and was especially proud of the blue streak down the center. Teardrop helped her dye it and she still remembered the looks on the faces of Edge and Sky when she had presented it to them.

She looked out of the window again. The sky had been clear since the tournament had started, but now it was slowly turning gray. If not that day, then the next day, it would start raining.

Rain. Just in time for her second battle. She smiled at the thought. River loved the rain and so did most of her human Pokémon. Sky had often suggested using a Pokémon that could call the rain, but she didn't mind not having one. She wasn't as competitive as he and Edge were. She liked her friends the way that they were.

She had barely started combing her hair when Luminous knocked on the door with her breakfast. She called for him to come in and he placed a silver tray on her night stand. When she thanked him, he once again melted through the floor. He only needed to use doors when he was carrying something solid. The food would get stuck against the ceiling when he tried to pass through.

River smirked to herself at the mental image. Luminous had been a gift from her grandfather. Her grandfather who had taught her everything he knew about Pokémon. Her grandfather, who was back on the island with Edge and Sky.

What name had they picked for him? Aurum? That must have been it. It sounded like something Sky would come up with. He always said he wasn't good with names, but River always liked them.

They were all back now. Three years they had been gone, but they were home again.

Would they stay this time? No, probably not. They were all hiding, too. River hadn't seen any of them in Round One. She would eventually, though. The tournament ensured that. She would see her grandfather again in Round Three and Edge and Sky would see each other again in the semi-final.

But would they ever be in the same place again?

Teardrop, Briar, and Pixie had all met up with another group of Sky's and Edge's human Pokémon. They missed each other and wasted no time once they were back on the island. Why couldn't the humans act like that? Whatever happened, it was over. Couldn't they just forgive each other?

It could be that simple. It wasn't too late.

But RiverofTears wasn't a little girl anymore. It had hurt to lose those bonds that had brought them together. Hurt like that wasn't easily forgotten.

And three years was a long time. They were home, but were they the same as when they left? River herself had changed quite a lot in that time. She wasn't a child anymore. They wouldn't know her and she wouldn't know them.

She wanted to believe differently, but she knew the truth. Going back was impossible.

She reached over to the night-stand and picked up the small ring. Instead of a diamond, a small sapphire decorated the top. She admired it for a few seconds, as she did every morning, before slipping it on her left hand. When she did, she became Rachel again.

Her fiancé wasn't a Pokemon trainer, like her, but it didn't matter. If her own hadn't evolved into humans, Rachel doubted that she would still call herself a Pokemon trainer. Those days were over, for her. She had more important responsibilities these days. She was building a life here and her island needed her.

She looked back at the clock on the nightstand. There was still plenty of time before she had to meet with Alfred Silph. As a representative of the city council, it was her job to discuss all of the grand ideas that Silph had planned for their little island. He had a habit of deciding key details at the last possible minute. It fell to Rachel to keep him in line because she knew him personally. It was going to be boring and tedious, but it would keep him from ruining Himitsu Island more than what he had already.

Briefly, she wondered about her choice of dress. But then she remembered that Silph didn't want to meet Rachel, he wanted to meet RiverofTears. He expected a Pokemon trainer with her hair dyed to reflect her pseudonym and ready to fight in his precious tournament. If she dressed the way she went to council meetings, it would be more difficult to talk him out of his grand schemes.

Still, she shouldn't think too much ill of Alfred Silph. True, most everything that he built for the tournament was useless without it and the city became a ghost town, but the money it made for the little island could not be ignored. Sometimes Rachel didn't even recognize the quiet little island that she had grown up on.

Rachel sighed and fingered her engagement ring a while longer. She really was all grown up if these were the things that she worried about. Pokemon battles were always so far from her mind, these days. Whenever she looked in that mirror and saw her hair and the way she was dressed…how could she be that girl and the woman she was now at the same time?

She could only be one. And whenever she looked at the sapphire in her ring, she knew the answer. Her fiancé had been sure to give her a little reminder; a piece of what she was before and what she would carry with her.

A week ago she had dyed her hair for the tournament and become RiverofTears, but it wouldn't last. The dye would fade and she would become Rachel once again.

* * *

><p>AN: can you tell that I kinda wanted to name him Lumiere? I COULD, of course, but I feel like that would confuse the two a little too much. They have very different personalities, even though they're both candle-based butlers…<p>

Thanks for reading!


	65. A Gray Morning

Chapter 63

For the first time in her life, Maple was not awake at dawn. She never minded waking up with the sun, she liked it. It was the right time of day to get up. When the world finally started to warm up again and fill with light. Night could never last forever and she wanted to be one of the first people in the world to see it end.

But on the morning of Day 6, she wasn't. When she did wake up, Cherry wasn't next to her and Mark wasn't in the opposite bed. They had woken up before her. That was another first. They were whispering, nearby, trying not to wake her.

"We only have today and tomorrow to train," Mark was saying, "That should be enough time."

"I'm fighting Shinobi?" even with her voice lowered, Maple could hear the fear in the little Charmander-girl's voice. It wasn't quite fear, though, it wasn't strong enough. Part of her was looking forward to fighting him.

"Maple can learn Aerial Ace, too," Mark wasn't the type of person to go in without a back-up plan, "but, yes, I need you to be ready. She can't fight the entire tournament by herself."

Winning the tournament was the last thing on Maple's mind this morning. She didn't care if they lost, so long as she didn't lose Mark. She had pushed him away before and she wouldn't do it again. Instead, he was going to slip away. And then what would happen to them?

"Is she going to be okay with Kim?" Cherry asked. She didn't know much about Kim and her group. They had helped rescue her from Team Deus, but she still didn't trust them.

"She'll be fine," Mark reassured her, "Kim told us about the tournament and guided us through the first few days. She's been a good friend to us," he paused for a moment, "I'm more worried about us. And finishing your training in time."

Maple decided to get up. She eased herself out of the bed, still groggy. A nearby clock told her it was seven thirty. If she had slept the entire night, she was sure that she'd feel fine. But her pillow was still a little damp, and she remembered why all too well.

"Good morning!" Cherry greeted. The girl trotted over and presented Maple with a strip of bacon, "want some? It's delicious!" She tore off a bite of her own, her eyes lighting up with intensity.

"Sorry," Maple shook her head, "no meat, please." She rubbed at her left eye, trying to force herself awake.

Mark parted the curtains, trying to let in a little more light, but somehow that made it worse. The skies outside were not the clear blue that had been such a welcoming part of Himitsu Island. Instead, the dull gray of rainclouds blocked the light of the sun. Maple groaned at the sight. She really needed the sun this morning.

A few minutes later, a knock sounded at their door. Mark opened it to see Kim, Volt and Sprinkle all ready for the day.

"Mornin', noob," Kim nodded, "you still want us to get rid of the Leafeon?"

"I don't want you to 'get rid of her,' " Mark sighed, "just, look after her for a little while."

"It's a joke, idiot," Kim tapped his arm, "loosen up a bit. Maybe invite us in?"

Awkwardly, Mark stepped aside and waved them in. Kim came in first, followed by Volt who hunched forward slightly, and last Sprinkle, whom Mark couldn't help but quickly scan up and down. The Vaporeon-girl took notice and the end of her lip curled into a smile, making the boy blush violently.

"Mornin' sweetie!" Kim called, throwing her arms around Maple. She knew immediately something was wrong. The Leafeon girl never held back on showing physical affection, but when Kim hugged her, the girl didn't hug back.

"So are we ready?" Volt asked, he sounded as groggy as Maple.

"Be patient, asshole," Kim snapped back. She turned back to look at Maple. That same hurt from yesterday was still in her eyes. Was this a mistake? Mark was asking for space, but that wasn't all of it.

Then she remembered the last conversation she had alone with Mark. The boy had told her that Maple was in love with him, but he didn't know if he could return that love. That was before the attack on Team Deus and everything that followed it. Three days had passed since then. Time that the boy should have used to get closer to her, not push her away.

But Maple was starting to put the pieces together. The hurt in her eyes was too obvious. She knew. By God, she knew and the idiot was pushing her away without even realizing it.

This was a bad idea. A very bad idea. She was helping to split them up. Time apart wasn't going to fix this. But what could she do? Refuse his request at the last minute? Make them face each other?

No, that wouldn't work either. Then she would be betraying both of them and Mark might do something even stupider if he wasn't prepared. They needed time together, but they also needed time for Mark to figure out what his stupid little teenage heart was telling him.

And what did any of this matter to her, anyway? It was a petty dispute between two teenagers that she barely knew. Why should she care? Kim had her own problems to work out.

But when she looked at Maple, she thought she knew. She had seen a lot of hurt in her life. A lot of wishes that weren't answered. Her own had been shattered years ago and she still wasn't on her feet again. Maybe she just wanted to see one person in this whole world actually achieve their dreams. She had been hurt bad, but she wasn't done trying.

"It's okay," Kim told Maple with a gentleness that surprised even her, "we'll take care of you." Maple nodded, her ears bobbing up and down. "Come on." Kim took her hand and started for the door. She waved to the little Charmander-girl as they went.

"Watch after your trainer," she warned her, "he may not realize it, but he's still a noob." The girl snickered at the comment.

As Kim walked past Volt, she noticed that Mark was still standing behind Sprinkle, his eyes lingering on the Vaporeon-girl. He snapped to attention at the last moment, vainly trying to hide what he'd been doing. What had he been looking at? Her hair? Her tail? Her ass?

_Teenagers_, Kim thought, _seriously_. Well, at least she would be getting those two apart. It couldn't be good for Maple to see him looking at sluts while she was feeling abandoned. And Sprinkle would only welcome the attention, even if it meant nothing.

"See you later," Kim nodded as she walked past Mark, still holding Maple's hand.

For good measure, she punched his arm. Hard.

* * *

><p>Lionel was biting his lip so hard, he was afraid it would start bleeding. He felt exposed and vulnerable back above ground. Too many people knew what he had done. And in this city, that was smaller than it looked, there was no telling when someone would jump out and attack him. The look of hatred in Silver's eyes and Mark's cold rejection still held onto him.<p>

"Can't you go any faster?" the frantic boy asked the Gardevoir-woman kneeling on the ground with her eyes closed.

There were few Pokémon that seemed to fit their human roles as well as this Gardevoir. Aside from the clearly human features on her face, there was little difference between the two forms. Her white dress pooled on the ground around her feet while her hands were folded in her lap. Her skin was pale and her features delicate while her mint-green hair covered half of her face. She was beautiful, but there was something tragic about it. As if she was wilting.

The Gardevoir-woman had been sent with Lionel and Whisper to search for the human Meganium. They had set a trap for her at Cal's match the day before, but the Meganium hadn't attended and Cal's subsequent victory went flawlessly. At the very least, that confirmed that the girl hadn't told anyone and Cal remained a stranger above ground. But he couldn't take another risk like that again. The Meganium-girl needed to die, and soon. So it became Fate's job to find her.

"What's taking so long?" Whisper snarled at the woman, as well, "it can't be that hard to pick her out." Whisper was uncharacteristically disguised as another of Cal's human Pokémon, a bloated man with light brown skin wearing a poncho and a green, leaf-like sombrero. He could only be a Ludicolo. The menacing growl of his speech did not fit the expression on the jovial face he was borrowing.

Fate opened her right-eye to a slit and peered at Whisper.

"Leave me be," her voice was no louder than a soft breeze, "you know nothing of what I'm doing." Her eye closed again and she took a deep breath to renew her concentration.

"You bitch!" Whisper snarled at her, "I could throttle you right here!"

"Do so and you'll reveal yourself to the Salamence-woman watching us from above," Fate pointed straight up. Lionel followed her finger, but he couldn't see anything, "she'll recognize you in a moment. And there is a great deal of lingering resentment towards you, in her heart. You hurt a dear friend of hers very deeply. I believe she wants to tear your limbs off one at a time, rather than let you escape again."

Whisper tried to peer upward, but the strange sombrero blocked his view. He tossed it away in his rage and tried again, but still found nothing. Nevertheless, he did not challenge Fate a second time.

"What _are_ you doing?" Lionel asked, curious.

"I can only concentrate if you stop talking," Fate replied coldly, "but if you can do that, I will explain."

Lionel wasn't sure whether he should say he understood, so he was greatly relieved when she continued.

"Becoming human enhanced my psychic powers beyond what I believed possible," Fate explained, "I'm now able to read minds and project my thoughts across great distances. At this moment, I'm searching for the Meganium-woman whom Cal wants."

Again, Lionel thought she stopped and he was about to ask her to continue when she spoke up.

"This power is not without cost, however," she inhaled and exhaled deeply, "it requires a considerable amount of focus and energy. To search the entire island will take some time."

It was nearly a full minute before Lionel worked up the courage to ask another question.

"So…you're reading the minds of everyone on the island?"

"As I said, it requires much concentration," she sighed, "but yes, I am. Though I cannot read the thoughts of dark or psychic-type human Pokémon. Dark-types are immune to it and psychics project their own barriers against it."

"Whoa..." Lionel gasped in disbelief, "so...could you...see the future too?"

"No, I cannot," Fate shook her head, though only slightly, "however, there is a Gothita-girl at headquarters that can. Though she's...mentally unstable."

"Wow…" Lionel marveled. He had seen a lot of the power of human Pokémon firsthand, but Fate was the first psychic type he had ever encountered. He wondered if they all could do this. If they could, what was stopping them from finding out where Team Deus was hidden? Maybe they already knew…

"Couldn't you do this back at the base?" Whisper growled. Clearly, he despised the form he was forced to take, but it was the most non-threatening one they could use. Cal hated the human Ludicolo almost as much as Whisper hated posing as him.

Fate shook her head, forgiving Whisper's interruption. "No," she said, "I cannot concentrate that close to the sub-basement. Even now I can hear them screaming…"

The sub-basement. Lionel hadn't been permitted to go down there, but he knew what it was. It was filled with failed experiments. Half-transformed human Pokémon that were broken and twisted into horrible creatures filled with rage. He could only imagine what terrible things Fate could hear.

"I've found her," Fate declared, though her whispering voice did not change, "yes…she still remembers the fear and isolation of the prison. I'm certain it's her."

"Perfect!" Whisper made the soft face of the Ludicolo-man sneer, but the expression was laughable rather than menacing, "Where is she? I'll kill her myself."

"She's not alone," Fate shook her head, "there's another with her…I can't read him, though. He must be a dark-type…"

"Silver…" Lionel supplied Fate with his name, "there was a human Absol named Silver with them. That must be him." Of course he would be with her. The anger and desperation in his voice had been so intense he likely wouldn't leave her side ever again. And Lionel hadn't even been the one responsible for capturing her.

"Very well…" Fate continued to concentrate on the Meganium-woman, "good, she's told no one about Cal."

"Really?!" Lionel couldn't believe it.

"Most people would prefer to forget the terrible things that happen to them," Fate explained, "she believes that it's over and that she's safe with the human Absol…she loves him."

"That doesn't matter!" Whisper snarled again, "where are they?! I can kill both of them myself!"

"They're going to the woods," Fate opened her eyes, "you won't be able to follow them. Palkia's Woods will shield them."

"The woods?" Lionel was just as doubtful as Fate. Mark had somehow made it in after Maple, but Lionel had no idea how he had done it.

"What about the woods?" Whisper scowled at the two.

"They're…magic," Lionel tried to come up with a word that made sense, but it was no good, "you can't follow somebody else into the woods…it won't let you."

"What? Can't you psychic your way in?" Whisper turned to Gardevoir-woman on the ground.

"No," she answered firmly, "it doesn't work that way."

"There's always a way in!" Whisper screamed.

But Fate shook her head, in defeat, "not one Team Deus member has ever found their way through those woods. Try if you like, but you will fail." She stood in a single, fluid motion, barely even wrinkling her dress. But her eyes remained unfocused and distant. "I will continue to follow her, but your role is done until I need you."

"Now you're in charge of us?" Whisper scoffed. As a Ludicolo, he was three times her size, with hands as big as dinner plates. He could snap the delicately built Gardevoir-woman in half if he chose.

"No, I am not," her eyes continued to stare at the ground, half-glazed over, "but if Cal wants her dead, then so do I."

She took another deep breath and Lionel wondered what it must be like to be a human Pokémon under Cal's command. The woman was hurt and broken, but she talked about killing someone like it meant nothing to her. It was just another order from her trainer, nothing difficult or even unusual.

All of the human Pokémon that Lionel had were leftovers from the experiments. They were all half-transformed and would stay that way forever. He didn't have a single one that could think for its self the way all other human Pokémon could.

And the ones that could think for themselves were as diverse as the humans who trained them. They ranged from Maple's unwavering devotion to Mark to Whisper's almost murderous hatred of his own trainer. Where did Fate fit into that scale?

"Lionel," Fate's head turned, but her eyes did not lift, "report back to Cal. Whisper and I will remain here, in case something changes."

"Alright," the boy nodded before racing off.

"So we lost," Whisper rolled his eyes.

"No," Fate once again shook her head and took a deep breath, "we are waiting until the right moment, that is all."

"Fine…" Whisper snarled, "But I was promised the chance to kill and now you're telling me to wait. Seems to me like I'm still in prison."

"You have my sympathies," Fate said without a shred of sympathy, "but you should learn to hold back. Your recklessness almost killed you."

"The last person who told me to hold back is the next person I'm killing once this Meganium-bitch is dead and cold," Whisper told her, "you want the next spot on the list?"

"Only if it pleases Cal," Fate told him before turning away.

There was something cold and helpless about the way she said it that sent shivers down Whisper's spine.

* * *

><p>AN: in some ways, I was holding back on introducing psychic-types until after Mewtwo demonstrated some of his awesomeness. Serenade (Cara's Jynx) is really just not all that powerful though. I suppose she could do the same things as the other psychics, but it's not really her thing. And hell, who says she even knows how to do it?<p>

on another note, I wasn't very happy with the ending of the last chapter. it was kind of anti-climactic for introducing somebody as important as RiverofTears (not that Edge's intro was that great, but that was mostly to fill time and I'm willing to let it go, for now at least), so I went back and lengthened it a bit. It's not much, but it's VERY important so I highly recommend going back and re-reading the new version.

SPOILER: the short version is that RiverofTears is engaged and has a nice job and is building a new life for herself. She's the one who's moving on and "getting too old for Pokemon." Pretty important stuff that really should come out the first time we see her.

So, anyways, take a look at it if you want (or read the spoiler). And if you liked it better the old way, be sure to let me know. But i am definitely killing off PureBlueSky/RiverofTears shipping with that chapter, which is the most important thing. Though I've played up PureBlueSky/Tempest shipping so much that I doubt anybody will notice or care particularly much.

And finally, on a lighter note, I started looking at the rest of RiverofTears's team and I'm thinking the whole team could have Disney themed nicknames. So far, this is what's been introduced/what I've been using, so far.

Milotic – currently named Teardrop, but I'm thinking of Ariel for the Disney theme

Chandelure – currently named Luminous, but could be renamed Lumiere

Roserade – currently named Briar, thinking of using Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty's name when she was living with her fairy god-mothers)

Butterfree – currently named Pixie, could be renamed Tinkerbell

So, that's the list, but I'm willing to bet that we could come up with two more to fit into this theme. And RiverofTears absolutely would have done this when she was younger. I mean, provided that Disney still exists in the Pokemon world, and I really don't see why not.

So, if you're in a Disney kind of mood and want to suggest some new Pokemon with Disney themed names (or help with renaming River's current team) then just let me know and we'll pick some favorites (maybe even vote, we haven't done that in a long time….). Either review or send me a PM, whichever way you prefer and we'll get this started!

Wow…..another seriously long AN…oh well, I always start to miss you guys whenever I miss a week…

So, that's it. Thanks for reading!


	66. Adrift Alone

Chapter 64

Maple drifted behind Kim, Volt and Sprinkle in a half daze. They were talking about something, but she wasn't paying any attention. None of it made sense anyway. Most of it felt like a string of vulgar comments about people that Maple had never heard of. Apparently, the three had a lot of friends that Maple didn't know existed.

Almost all of the stories that Maple overheard centered on Sprinkle. She had more human friends on the island than what Maple had met over the course of her entire life. Half of them claimed to be in love with her, though she returned those feelings to none of them. Sprinkle had collected quite a number of amusing stories about strange gifts and confessions that she had received over the past few years. Though the humor of each was lost on Maple. In most cases, Kim served as the main recipient of Sprinkle's gifts, which added another level of humor whenever Kim had made the decision to open said gift.

It was all incredibly confusing to Maple and she stopped trying to make sense of it before too long. After the first round, Maple had fans of her own, especially after winning a battle by herself. But…gifts? What exactly did that mean? Not only that, but Sprinkle's fans seemed to like her for reasons completely unrelated to her battling. None of it made any sense.

Maple had seen little outside of her time training with Mark. Maybe that was why she felt small and stupid around these three.

Sprinkle, on the other hand, had so many friends and admirers that she didn't seem to think anything of them. The number of them was what seemed to concern her. She spoke cheerfully about them, but she never elaborated on why she liked them. She could replace any of them on a whim because every single one seemed to be exactly the same. She had no real emotional attachment to anyone except for Kim and Volt and probably Cotton.

Yet even that wasn't entirely true. Something had happened between Sprinkle and Volt in the past. The Raichu-boy had a tendency to gaze at her, but Sprinkle always turned away to avoid it. Volt's attitude was also noticeably surlier than what Maple remembered. There was a bitterness in his voice that he was trying to hide, yet couldn't quite manage it.

So it was the two girls that were the closest of the three. Kim was undoubtedly the realist of the two. Sprinkle spoke with a bubbly, a little too cheerful, tone as she bragged about the gifts and admirers she had amassed. When she did, it fell to Kim to bring the Vaporeon-girl back to earth by dismissing most of those admirers as creepy stalkers or outright losers.

Sprinkle claimed she loved her followers but showed no real dedication to them while Kim hated all of them and wasn't afraid to talk about it. Maple couldn't decide which was worse. Even worse than that, she didn't know if Kim and Sprinkle were terrible people or if Sprinkle just had the tendency to attract the wrong people. She hoped it was the second one.

"Umm…" Maple's head was spinning, but the most important question she could think of hadn't been answered yet, "Where are we going?"

No one heard her the first time, so she tried again.

"Hmm?" Volt had been walking right in front of her so he was the only one to hear the second time.

"Where are we going?" Maple asked a third time. She was beginning to feel as if she was being swept along on a current she couldn't hope to control. And right after Kim had promised she would be okay…

"Hey! Kim!" Volt called. Maple began to feel slightly relieved now that she was making progress.

"What?" Kim stopped.

"We're not going to the beach, are we?" Volt asked. It wasn't quite what Maple had asked, but it was close.

"What? Oh, God, no." Kim shook her head, aghast at the suggestion.

"_What_?!" Sprinkle shrieked in protest.

"Sorry," Kim confronted her human Vaporeon, "I've had enough of beating off perverts for one tourney, thank you very much."

"But I didn't get anything yet today…" Sprinkle whined. Maple couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

"Such a tragedy," Volt mumbled. Somebody shouted a cat-call at Sprinkle and that seemed to lift her spirits a little.

"Thank you!" Sprinkle called back, waving in a random direction, "whoever you are!"

"Stop encouraging them," Kim groaned, "we have a _guest_ today," she jammed a finger at Maple, "I'd rather not get swamped by a crowd while she's with us."

"Three or four guys is not a crowd," Sprinkle whined, "I'll get one or two for you, too. I promise!"

"You're missing the point…" Kim groaned, "Tell you what," she turned back to Maple, "since you're the poor soul who's stuck with us, what do you want to do?"

"Me?" Maple hadn't anticipated this and she had no answer ready, "umm…the beach is okay with me…" She knew it wasn't, but it was the only suggestion anyone had made. It was as good as anything. Even if she didn't like sand.

"Yay!" Sprinkle cheered, "I knew I liked you!" Maple managed a half-smile back, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Alright, alright, fine," Kim sighed in defeat, "lead the way." Sprinkle's tail swished behind her as she followed Kim's suggestion.

When they started off again, Kim lingered behind to walk next to Maple. The strange conversations stopped, but Sprinkle instead began to hope, very loudly, that certain, reliable gift-givers would be waiting for her at the beach.

Maple truly did not understand how Sprinkle thought. They were both Eevee evolutions, so it should have been easy. But there were a lot more complications to human life than what Maple realized. She felt so overwhelmed by the difference between the two of them that she was beginning to wonder if she would ever understand the Vaporeon-girl at all.

And if she couldn't understand her, then what could she make of what Mark saw in her?

"Hey," Kim nudged Maple, gently, "sorry we're such crappy hosts."

"Oh…" Maple didn't know what else to say to that.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kim asked.

Maple wasn't going to answer, but something in Kim's voice made her look up.

She still barely knew Kim, but already she had seen two sides to her. Kim was an older sister to her and Mark, but with her own human Pokémon she was almost an entirely different person. Maple didn't like that second side of Kim one bit, but _that_ Kim wouldn't ask her how she was feeling.

When Maple looked at her this time, it was the older sister Kim that was asking if she was okay. Whatever Maple told her, she could trust her big sister.

"No…" Maple shook her head, "no…no, I'm not okay…" She looked away again, fighting back the sudden need to cry. She thought they had all gone last night, but there were still more left.

"Hey," Kim put her arm around Maple's shoulders, "come here. It's alright." She glanced up at Volt and Sprinkle, but they hadn't taken notice.

Maple snuffled at her shoulder for a few moments, but she was mostly under control. She didn't sob like she thought she would.

"You don't want to go to the beach, do you?" Kim asked and the Leafeon-girl nodded. Kim flinched away, but otherwise managed to ignore it when Maple's long ears hit her in the face. "Alright, we don't have to go, then," Kim racked her brain for alternatives. Volt and Sprinkle were starting to drift pretty far ahead, too.

"Hey! Wait up!" she called to them. The human Pokémon turned around, Volt with a frown on his face. Upon seeing the situation, Sprinkle rushed back to them.

"Aww…" Sprinkle cooed in sympathy, "What's wrong?"

"Not now, Sprinkle," Kim held up her free hand. She knew the reason for Maple's breakdown and Sprinkle was not likely to be of any help.

"Hey," Kim shook Maple lightly, "did you eat anything yet?" Maple shook her head and Kim managed to dodge her ears this time.

"Alright, tell you what," Kim said as cheerfully as she could manage, "Sprinkle and Volt can go ahead to the beach while you and I go get some breakfast. Sound good?"

Maple nodded. She still didn't see how that would help, but she let Kim lead her anyway.

She tried to think about nothing at all as Kim guided her steps. Instead, she focused on the feel of Kim's shirt against her cheek. It wasn't exactly soft, but it was warm and dry.

Kim disentangled herself from the Leafeon-girl to set her into a chair. Somehow they found their way back to the square in the center of the city. The closest café was the very same one that they had met Alex at and shared lunch after their Round One win. It wasn't the busiest place in the square, but seeing it gave Maple a feeling of comfort. It was becoming a familiar place for her.

"Do you know what you want?" Kim asked her.

"Nothing with meat," Maple managed.

"O-kay…" that didn't narrow the options by much, but it was something, "you like sugary stuff, right?"

"Uh-huh," Maple nodded.

"Alright, I'll be right back," Kim left to go wait in line.

While she waited, Maple began to look around the square. As usual, it was filled with humans and human Pokémon of all sorts. A young Furret-girl was playing catch with a Cubone-boy using the boy's bone instead of a ball. Once, she dropped it and as it skidded away, the girl forgot herself for a moment and chased it on all fours. Though, no one batted an eye at the strange behavior.

She continued to scan the area, but couldn't help but wonder why it didn't hold the same fascination for her anymore. Once, seeing and meeting new human Pokémon was the main joy in her life. Now, too many things had happened. She mentally cursed Eclipse for being right, again.

"Here you go," Kim returned with something round with frosting on it and a steaming cup of liquid, "it's called a donut. You'll like it."

Maple took the round thing and bit into it. It _was_ good. Not as good as her first love of soda, but she finished it quickly all the same.

The liquid was more challenging.

"Coffee," Kim named it, "it'll help wake you up. I didn't know what to put in it, though, so it's black."

Maple didn't really need help waking up but she was finally starting to feel better and she didn't want to disappoint Kim.

However, when she tried to take a drink, two things happened and neither of them was pleasant. First of all, the drink tasted terrible. It was bitter and flat. It tasted like hot mud.

The second thing that happened was worse than the first. Maple didn't realize what was happening until it was too late and she burned her tongue. Reflexively, she spat the drink out in a spray and tossed the cup away as if it were on fire itself.

"Ohh…dammit," Kim scolded herself, "I'm sorry…I should've warned you."

"Why would you drink something like that?!" the expression on Maple's face was stark horror. Kim couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Kim gasped as she regained control of herself, "the look on your face…" she burst into fresh giggling and it was another thirty seconds before she could speak.

"Really, I'm sorry…" Kim took a deep breath to control herself. There was a very serious reason that they were here. She couldn't laugh at the Leafeon-girl and expect to be able to help her.

"I guess Mark isn't a coffee drinker, huh?" Kim asked. It was the best transition she could think of.

"I guess not…" Maple shrugged.

"More of a tea drinker?" she tried, "or does he just stay away from that stuff altogether?"

"What's tea?"

"Well…it's kind of like coffee, in a way," Kim bit her lip to think, "they're both bitter adult drinks…I guess you two are still too young…"

"Oh…"

"Say…how old are you two, anyway?"

"Three," Maple answered, "Mark's sixteen."

"I meant human years."

"Oh. Then sixteen."

"Sixteen…" Kim mused, "I remember those days…"

"How old are you?" Maple asked.

"Me?" Kim paused, "Twenty. I'm an old lady."

"Is twenty really old for humans?"

"Nah," Kim waved it off, "it feels like it is sometimes, but it's really not."

"Oh…"

"So…" Kim hated this part, but she was running out of small talk, "you want to tell me about Mark? What's going on with you two?"

After a few minutes, Maple shook her head.

"Hmm…"

Great. Now Kim had to guess.

"Did he say something to you? Do something mean?"

"No…" Maple shook her head, "Mark isn't like that…"

Of course he wasn't. Kim had met the kid and even had one of these fun little talks with him. He wouldn't do anything to deliberately hurt Maple. So it was something that happened by accident? Something where his heart was in the right place? So to speak. Well, best to start with what she knew.

"Is this about Sprinkle?" Kim asked.

Maple didn't answer. Again, she was the type of person that wouldn't answer something like that. These were good kids, but if Kim was going to help them, she needed to get at something nasty.

"I know. She's a piece of work," Kim sighed, "but she's nothing to worry about. She acts like that around all guys. It never means anything. It's all an act."

"How do you know?" Maple asked.

"That's…a story for another time," Kim answered, though she knew full well that it wasn't a real answer, "just trust me on this, okay?"

"Okay," Maple said half-heartedly.

This wasn't working. Kim doubted if she really could do anything to help her. She got her breakfast. Did that count?

"Well," Kim had no choice but to give up, "if you ever want to talk, I'll listen." She meant it, but she also had very serious doubts that Maple would take her offer.

Kim leaned back and tried to think of something to do. By now, without Kim around to beat them off, Sprinkle would have a harem following her around and Volt would be contemplating suicide. In theory, they were responsible enough to look after themselves. But again, in theory.

Suddenly, Maple's big eyes grew even wider.

"What? What is it?" Kim craned around to scan the crowd. In the middle of a crowd of other human Pokémon, a familiar face strode between them.

Cerberus, the vicious, human Houndoom Maple had beaten in Round One, stood tall, straight and powerful amidst the crowd. His usual entourage wasn't with him, but he was plenty dangerous and unpredictable on his own. He hadn't noticed them yet, but if he did, there would be no telling what he would do.

"It's okay, Maple," Kim whispered, "just get up slow and calm and we'll leave right now." Maple nodded, just once, without taking her eyes off of the human Houndoom.

Together, the two girls began to rise. Kim kept herself between Maple and Cerberus, trying to hide her tail. Cerberus would probably overlook Kim, but Maple was the only Leafeon-girl on the island. Something like that wouldn't be easy to miss.

They were doing well, but then Cerberus's snarling voice cut through the still air.

"Hey! Where do you think you're goin'?!"

Kim's heart leapt into her throat and she halted their retreat, but to her surprise, the shouting continued.

"Get your asses back here you little snots!" Cerberus was still screaming, but not at Kim and Maple. Kim reluctantly glanced back, and saw who he was really yelling at.

"I'm really sorry!" a small Cubone boy pleaded with him. The boy was dressed in dull brown clothes and the lizard skull was draped over one eye, rather than covering his entire face. Beside him, a Furret-girl in a brown and tan striped dress was lending moral support.

"It was an accident!" she added.

"_Sorry_!" Cerberus roared, "You almost took my eye out!"

Kim looked to Maple to confirm the story, but she shook her head. Whatever happened, Cerberus had been in no danger and was probably overreacting.

Overreacting? Was that all there was to it? Or was he making up excuses because he saw the chance to attack some kids in the middle of the crowded square? Kim knew Cerberus well enough to know the answer to that question. It might be a stretch to say he knew what he was doing, but no one was disputing him.

Still, Kim couldn't believe it when Maple called out

"It was an accident!" the Leafeon-girl shouted, "It never even came close to hitting you!"

Cerberus's eyes lit up with such intensity that Kim thought he might abandon the idea of attacking the kids altogether.

"_You_," he snarled, but then his sharp canine teeth shone in a wide grin, "you saw what happened?"

"I did," Maple stood her ground, "you caught it out of the air. They weren't even throwing it hard enough to hurt."

"Really?" Cerberus looked at the crowd around him, "anybody else see what happened?"

No one spoke up.

"So, it's me against you, then," Cerberus grinned before tossing aside the bone, "I'd rather have you than two little kids that can't even fight anyway." He began to stride forward, straight towards the two girls.

"Maple!" Kim shouted. "Run!"

Maple didn't move.

She had defeated Cerberus in the tournament using Dig. She had only gotten stronger since then. But would it be enough? This time she didn't have Mark and she didn't have Swords Dance ready. Not only that, but her range with Dig was limited. With Cerberus still outside of that range she would have to close that distance to get at him. And last time Dig had been a surprise attack. He might not be fooled twice by the same attack.

Still…the Red State was calling to her. That sweet flood of power that filled the world when she gave in to her instincts to attack. She needed to battle, needed to let it out. She was tired and angry at everything around her. Now Cerberus was standing in front of her and giving her the perfect excuse to let it out.

Maybe it was the same thing Cerberus was doing right in front of her, but she didn't care. If Mark didn't love her, then she always had her battles. She had almost forgotten. She'd have to thank Cerberus when he was coughing up blood.

She blinked and let the Red State in.

"No!" Kim shouted, but Maple ignored her. The crowd gathered around Cerberus parted in an instant as people sought refuge from the ensuing battle.

The Leafeon-girl dashed forward as Cerberus drew in a breath. His Flamethrower was his most dangerous attack, but just like before, the flames streaked harmlessly over the gaping hole in the ground that Maple had disappeared into.

Cerberus grinned to himself. The little girl was doing this again. But this time he was ready. A trick like that never worked twice.

He held his arms out and held up a Protect barrier around himself. When the Leafeon-girl burst from the ground, she bounced harmlessly off of his shield, landing within arm's reach.

Instead of attacking, Cerberus reached out and lifted her up by her neck. The little girl twisted and struggled in his grip.

"Not this time, sweetheart," Cerberus snarled, "now you're mine." He drew back and inhaled, preparing his Flamethrower.

Somehow, the Leafeon-girl managed to twist around in his grasp. She slashed across his chest with enough force to actually draw a thin line of blood. Cerberus growled at the pain and dropped the girl onto the ground.

Maple coughed and tried to sit up. Her vision was blurry and she was still stunned from Cerberus's attack. She needed to get up and start Dig again. It was her only chance. If she managed to catch him off guard it would all be over.

But now she was the one off guard. Cerberus was standing over her, flames at the side of his mouth.

She couldn't move.

A blur of white and purple shot over her head and collided with Cerberus. It tossed him back into the wall of the closest building, thirty feet away. A loud crunch sounded as the wall cracked from the force of the blow and the human Houndoom fell unconscious immediately.

"Picking on children and little blond girls…" a high-pitched male voice sounded, "Have you no soul, sir?"

Where Cerberus stood only a moment before, a human Pokémon was swishing its long tail. The newcomer was dressed in violet sweatpants and a white karate shirt. The sleeves were absurdly long, reaching down almost to the ground. When he turned around, his face was long and pointed, somewhat weasel-like. But his expressions and manner were light-hearted, even juvenile.

Maple realized that her rescuer was a human Mienshao.

* * *

><p>AN: sorry about the mood whiplash in this one. It actually still ended up being a pretty well-rounded chapter. maybe it's me, but usually this story's either all action or all emo. Hard to get a good mix going.<p>

oh, yeah. i started reading through not that long ago, so, you can probably expect that i'll start using terms from there to describe the story. btw, if you've never heard of it, is a FANTASTIC site that i recommend to anybody and everybody. seriously, i love it to pieces.

Anyways, hope you liked it! Still debating the Disney nicknames idea. Hasn't been a whole lot of support for it, so, I'll probably drop it. It would be really out of place alongside everybody else.

Okay, now I'm done. Thanks for reading!


	67. Unexpected Friendships

Chapter 65

"Not a bad distance, really," the human Mienshao tittered, "but you can't play this game in the city very well. Too many buildings in the way…" He smiled down at Maple with a smug expression, as if trying to stop himself from laughing at his own joke. But the expression sobered as he looked at her.

"Hey…aren't you-GAH!"

His sentence was cut off when a figure crashed into the ground directly behind him. The Mienshao jumped a clean five feet into the air, spinning around at least twice in mid-air. Maple stared, open-mouthed as she recognized the new arrival.

The human Salamence folded her magnificent crimson wings against her back before turning to stare down the human Mienshao.

"Hey…Tempest…" the Mienshao stuttered, "uh…how's it going?"

"Is it him?" she asked, her voice devoid of patience or sympathy.

"Nah," the Mienshao shook his head, calmer now, "it's just a Houndoom. False alarm."

"Alright," Tempest nodded, "I'll let you take care of it, then." She eyed the Mienshao with suspicion, "Just be sure next time. Don't use this as an excuse to interfere in everyone else's battles. We're trying to do this quietly."

"'Quietly', riiight…" he grinned at the dragon-woman, "you mean like how you just quietly scared the shit out of every last person in the square?"

Maple looked around and saw it was true. It was as if the morning itself was taking a time-out to watch what was happening. Every pair of eyes in the square was on the two arguing human Pokémon.

"Quickstep…" Tempest snarled at the human Mienshao, "Don't test me."

"Hey, I'm just sayin' that maybe you should work on your social skills a little bit," Quickstep held up his hands. They were still concealed underneath the sleeves of his shirt. The lower half of each hung limply whenever he moved his arms. "You know…get outside, meet a few new people," he continued, "stop worrying about Sky for a little while…"

Tempest's hard scowl broke for a moment as she flinched at the mention of PureBlueSky.

It was all Quickstep needed to scare her off.

"Just keep looking," Tempest shook her head. She unfolded her wings and flapped them a few times to get airborne. Then she was gone, back into the sky as quickly as she had come.

Maple looked up to watch her go. After a few seconds even she couldn't see the Salamence-woman. But she had no doubt that Tempest could still see her.

"There," Quickstep bounced on his heels, swelling with pride all the while, "now that that's out of the way…" He turned back to Maple, who was still too scared to move from her spot on the ground. "Nice to meet you," he extended a hand and the floppy end of a sleeve, "my name's Quickstep, in case you missed it when the bitch was yelling at me." He said it all in an undeniably chipper tone.

"Maple," the Leafeon-girl answered, taking Quickstep's hand and rising to her feet, "thank you for helping me."

"Anytime," Quickstep inclined his head, "it's not every day I get to High Jump Kick somebody in the face to help out a pretty girl."

Maple blushed at the compliment. She was starting to like Quickstep already.

"Are you crazy?!" Kim came up next to Maple, "I'm supposed to be looking after you and you pick a fight with a fire-type?!"

"Whoa, hold on a second," Quickstep took a step back and held up his floppy sleeves again, "everything worked out alright. Even Doberman-boy will be just fine once his trainer comes looking for him." He nodded in the direction of Cereberus's unconscious body. Aside from Maple's Leaf Blade cut across his chest, he had no visible wounds. Still, without any medical attention it would be a few hours before he was on his feet again.

"Well," Quickstep clicked his heels together, "guess I better get back to work before the bitch comes back. Thus, I bid you, adieu." He bowed, draping his long sleeves across the ground.

"Uh…wait!" Maple managed to call as he turned away, "umm…are you…I mean is…is PureBlueSky your trainer?"

"Why, yes he is!" Quickstep seemed delighted that she realized it, but his tone turned dark in a moment, "though not by choice."

"Huh?" Maple tilted her head in confusion.

"We don't get along very well," Quickstep said with obvious distaste, "he's…what's the nicest way to say it? A coward, lazy, depressing to be around, selfish, stupid," he counted off on his fingers as he went, which was difficult beneath his sleeves, "moody, pathetic, high on himself, overrated aaand…there was a tenth one…ah, yes, broken."

Maple stared at him for a moment, not sure what to say.

"He seemed okay to me during the match," she shrugged. Maple had never met PureBlueSky, only heard about him and seen him battle. Still…did Quickstep really hate his own trainer that much?

"Believe me," Quickstep closed the matter, "he's awful in person."

"Maple, we really should get going," Kim urged the Leafeon-girl. They needed to catch up with Sprinkle and Volt, but if they stayed in the area too long, Tristan was likely to show up and take some revenge on whoever was handy at the time.

"In a minute," Maple brushed her off. There was still something that she needed answered. "So, do you know Flurry? We met her before."

"Flurry? Oh, sure, I know her," Quickstep nodded.

"How is she?" Maple asked. The last time Maple had seen the Glaceon-girl she had been screaming while engulfed in flames.

"Shaken," Quickstep admitted, "but she'll be alright. She's been through worse."

"Oh, good…" Maple breathed. It did her a lot of good to hear that.

"So, it really is you, then," Quickstep smirked at Maple, "I wasn't sure, honestly. I mean, there's only one human Leafeon on the island, but they told me you were some sort of peppy little cheerleader of a girl." Quickstep chuckled to himself, "call me crazy, but I'm not seein' it."

"_You've heard about me_?!" Maple asked in shock and disbelief. She had met Flurry, sure, but she didn't think she was special enough for PureBlueSky's human Pokémon to be talking about her.

"Absolutely," Quickstep said, "we've been keeping an eye on you ever since you became Katana's newest little apprentice." Quickstep chuckled again, "not everybody gets the privilege of being regularly stabbed by her."

"Oh, wow…" Maple marveled. They were watching her? Why?

"Yeah, yeah, that's great," Kim made herself heard again, "but, c'mon, we really need to go."

"Oh, right," Maple had almost forgotten that Kim was still standing there, "Uhh…Quickstep?"

"Yeah?"

"If it's not too much trouble…could we go see Flurry?"

"Well, it means going to see the asshole wizard, too…" Quickstep shrugged, "but other than that, I don't see why not."

"Wait," Kim halted them, "Maple…do you really want to go with this guy?"

"I just want to see Flurry," Maple told her, "you can go on to the beach without me. I'll be right back."

Kim looked from Quickstep, back to Maple, back to Quickstep. Something wasn't right about the human Mienshao. He seemed friendly enough but there was something else hidden behind it. What kind of human Pokémon hated their trainer as much as Quickstep hated PureBlueSky? Not even Tristan's human Pokémon really hated him.

"Alright, you can go," Kim heard herself say, "We'll meet up at the beach. Don't take too long or we'll start looking for you."

"Thank you, Kim," Maple hugged the older girl, but somehow that made Kim's decision feel like an even worse idea.

She watched the two leave, hoping that she had made the right choice.

It hadn't been easy to let Maple go. The Leafeon-girl was her responsibility and she didn't trust Quickstep at all. But something was wrong with Maple that Kim couldn't fix. She couldn't drag the girl around the island and hope that her problems would magically get better. Kim let her go because she couldn't think of a way to help Maple.

And that felt like a failure.

* * *

><p>Every muscle in Tsunami's body ached when he awoke that morning. After a full day of getting slapped around by a human Ferrothorn dressed like a knight he found it hard to believe that Mark and Maple had been enduring day after day of this.<p>

Training with Aurum was the most brutal experience of Tsunami's life. Fighting Billow and Mortem was tough enough, but Nails was in another league. At least, against the Drifblim and Jellicent, Tsunami could hold take a few hits and maybe return a few. But one Power Whip from Nails was enough to permanently knock him out of a battle.

As a human Swampert, he wasn't built to be quick and dodge those attacks. Most of his strength was built on taking damage, but not from a grass-type. One Ice Beam was the best he could do before they needed a Revive to bring him back.

When he showered, he found massive welts all over his body from where the Power Whip had hit him. He wouldn't tell Eric and Fernelia, they certainly had enough worries. And if he was taking this much of a beating, Fernelia was not likely to be in any better shape.

Maybe a day of rest would be the best thing for them.

Mark, Maple and Cherry had to be machines if they could train like that every day. Tsunami hadn't seen them train himself, though. They had disappeared into the woods with Aurum's Weavile-woman, Katana, and hadn't come out until after Tsunami had already been revived for what felt like the twentieth time.

The look on the Charmander-girl's face had been something else. Even after a full day of training she had been wide-eyed and half-crazed with the desire for more battling. She looked to be the same age as Eric, but to say that they were the same couldn't be more wrong.

Tsunami stared out of the hotel window as he waited for Fernelia and Eric to finish getting ready. They were all lined up for another day of the same, brutal training with Mark and Aurum. Those kids could go forever, but Tsunami was really starting to feel his age.

It was the first time in his life that he felt old. The nurses at the Pokémon Center had told him that he was twenty-nine in human years and Fernelia was just behind him at twenty-eight. They weren't even middle-aged by human standards, but already he was falling behind a younger generation.

That was the price to pay for staying in one spot with Eric. Most trainers had the freedom to move from place to place, seeking new battles and tougher opponents. Their Pokémon sky-rocketed in strength in a very short time. That was not the case for Tsunami and Fernelia, who couldn't go much further than the grounds of the mansion during Eric's boyhood.

Of course, Tsunami did not blame Eric nor regret any of the time spent at the mansion. It was where he belonged, watching over the boy that would become his adopted son. Their time together was worth the trade-off in power.

Tsunami only wanted more power because for the first time in his life, he felt like he truly needed it. Somewhere down there, Team Deus was stalking them. They had escaped before, but Mark and Silver had insisted that it was deliberate. The next time they might not be so lucky.

There had been no sign of them since the match against Farin. The big boss, who was only the fourth in command himself, had shown his face topside and once again Tsunami was powerless.

Was training with Aurum the answer? Thus far all Tsunami had to show for it was a collection of bruises. He needed more than that. He needed a victory. Some forward momentum against their enemy.

But his hands were tied. He couldn't leave Eric and Fernelia to find someone that could help. Not without convincing them. And what would that take?

As if in answer, there was a knock on the door.

Stunned into disbelief, Tsunami turned around to look at Eric, who was in the middle of eating his breakfast. The two stared at each other quizzically, waiting for the other to move. Fernelia was in the bathroom, combing her hair.

The knock came again.

"I'll get it," Tsunami announced. It seemed meant for him, anyway.

When he opened the door, a brunette-haired girl with square-framed glasses was looking up at him. She was a little on the short side, which made her look younger than what she was. Tsunami towered over her. She was flanked by a human Jynx and a sleepy-eyed Honchkrow-woman.

"Umm…good morning," the young woman greeted, "uh, you don't know me. But I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."

"Oh, sure," Tsunami started, "come in." He stepped to the side to let the women through. They walked into the center of the room, stopping only to look at Fernelia and Eric.

"Uh…" the woman wearing the glasses looked around, unsure of who to address, "you're the trainer, right?" She settled on Eric.

"Yes, I am," Eric stood up and shook the woman's hand. Very polite, very professional, just the way that his real father had taught him. "How can I help you?"

"Well, I'm not sure…" the woman admitted, "I'm not really sure what I'm asking."

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Fernelia offered, emerging from the bathroom to join their guests.

"Well, it's about the man you fought in the tournament," the woman began, "Edwards?"

"What about him?" Tsunami asked. Maybe this really was the answer to his problems.

"I'm not sure if he's…"

"A good guy?" Eric finished, smirking slightly.

"Right," the woman sighed as her human Honchkrow stifled a yawn, "I think he might be a criminal of some sort."

"Believe me," Tsunami spoke up, "you're in the right place."

"Wait, then you've…" the eyes of the glasses-woman lit up.

"We've fought him before," Eric nodded, "yeah…he's not a good guy, that's for sure."

"Wait," Tsunami stopped him before he could say more, "what about you? Before we tell you anything, tell us who you are."

"Alright," the woman nodded, "my name's Cara. I met that man about a week before the tournament. I could tell that there was something strange about him, but I didn't know what it was and…I didn't know who to ask. But…you know who he is?"

"Why do you want to know?" Eric took up Tsunami's game.

"Something's wrong with Alex," Cara burst out, "he won't talk to me and he won't tell me what's wrong!"

"Wait, slow down," Tsunami tried to calm Cara, "who's Alex?"

"He's a friend of mine," Cara inhaled and exhaled, the human Jynx patted her shoulder, helping to calm her, "he had a…Zoroark that got away…"

"Got away?" Eric asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It…wasn't a good guy either," Cara shrugged, "he didn't tell me about it, but I know it's dangerous. But Alex said he had help getting away. A trainer, or somebody, helped him."

"And you think it was that 'Edwards' guy?" Eric asked.

"I don't know…" Cara admitted, "Alex didn't know either. But you've heard about the human Pokémon kidnappers, right?"

"We have," Eric didn't want to relive any of those details, but he wasn't starting to fear that he might have to.

"And Edwards?"

"He's one of them," Eric told her the truth, "you'd better sit down. This is going to take a while."

* * *

><p>AN: so, somewhere along the line, something weird happened…<p>

the story passed 200 reviews!

Now, I believe the last time I got 100 reviews I busted my ass to post three chapters in one week. Can I do it again? Sadly, I probably can't. I don't have any back-up chapters ready.

Still, I don't want to go without celebrating in some way…so, I will TRY my absolute best to get at least a second one done before next weekend.

Anyways, thank you VERY MUCH to everybody that has supported me and this story throughout the year and a half that I've been working on it. Without your support, I likely would have stopped a very long time ago and I am very, very, VERY happy that I can feel confident enough to keep going.

As always, thank you for reading, reviewing and for all of your support!


	68. Tempted by Another

Chapter 66

The gloom of the cloudy morning made the normally bright, vibrant surroundings of Palkia's Woods feel dull and lifeless. The squeaks and cries of a multitude of different Pokémon still filled the air, but even those felt just as dull. The world was just going through the motions today, with no real joy behind it.

Mark did his best to ignore the depressing atmosphere as he led Cherry through the woods. Aurum would already be in his usual fishing spot and Lily and Eric would be waiting for him as well.

He had been slow to get started this morning. Partially because of handing Maple over to Kim, but there were other reasons as well. For one, it had taken some time to decide how he wanted to train Cherry. Most trainers that underwent effort training suggested training Charizard to be fast and offensively powerful. However, Cherry was a Charmander, not a Charizard, and as regrettable as it was, she would not reach that potential. If Cherry was going to evolve, she would have done it by now and Mark's plans would be different.

The little Charmander-girl was glowing with joy at how powerful she was becoming. She still had no idea that she couldn't evolve again now that she was part human. Mark would have to tell her sometime. If he didn't, she was bound to figure it out and then she might start to hate Mark for not telling her. Their relationship was shaky as it was, he couldn't lose what little trust he still had.

Still…just three days ago Cherry had been a shattered, lonely little girl. Mark had never seen her as happy as she was when they were training. He didn't want to take that away from her until he had to.

"So, what are we doing today?" she asked, bursting with happiness in spite of the gray morning, "I already beat all those Aipom. Do I get to fight a real opponent yet?"

"I don't think so," Mark shook his head, "first we need to finish your effort training."

"And _then_ I can fight a human Pokémon, right?"

"We'll have to see what Aurum thinks," Mark waved her down.

"Alright, _fine_," Cherry pouted, "I'm still fighting Shinobi, right?"

"Probably," Mark shrugged. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Cherry was absolutely their best bet at beating Lily in the tournament. The fire-type girl had the type advantage that Maple lacked, but she was still young and inexperienced. Shinobi was a powerful veteran on the battlefield. As important as typing was in Pokémon battles, Mark had seen enough of them to know that experience and strategy were worth even more.

"Awesome…" Cherry grinned and rubbed her hands together.

"You're not worried?" Mark asked her. She looked like a harmless little girl, but she could also be as bloodthirsty as they come.

"Why should I be?" Cherry peered up at her newly acquired trainer, "I mean, I'm a fire-type and he's a bug-type. He'll be tough, but I can beat him."

"Well, it's not as easy as that…" Mark warned, but Cherry went right on, anyway.

"Besides, once we're done with all my training, I'll probably be a Charizard by then," Cherry clasped her hands and looked up through the trees, "and then I can _fly_."

_Oh, no_, Mark thought. Was this it? Was this the moment where he had to tell her? She just said she wanted to fly and he had to tell her that it was impossible…

No, he couldn't do it. He couldn't shatter her dreams like that. What did he have as proof that it was impossible anyway? There could still be another way. Something they hadn't thought of yet. What harm was there in hoping?

He had to let her believe. If only for just a little bit longer.

"We're almost there," Mark said, instead.

Mark had expected to hear the shouts and screams of a Pokémon battle as they reached the clearing by the lake. Instead, the air was quiet and still. There was nothing going on and only Aurum was waiting for them, as they emerged through the trees.

"Where is everyone?" Cherry asked. She and Mark were at least two hours late and the morning was halfway over. They were supposed to meet Lily and Eric here, but they were nowhere in sight.

Mark approached Aurum, half-expecting the old man to give him a fresh scolding for the day, but he didn't rise from his seat.

"Still need me for advice?" Aurum growled. He hadn't so much as flinched as Mark walked over to him. For all he knew the old man had just woken up.

"Where is everyone?" Mark repeated Cherry's question. He took another look around, as if the others might come out of hiding.

"This _is_ everyone," Aurum sighed. He began to reel in his line. The end of his hook was bare, no fish and no bait. "Bugger…" he muttered. He opened the tackle box, laying on the ground at his right side, and set to work fitting a new worm on the end of the hook.

"Uhh…" Mark stuttered. So far, not one day training with Aurum had been routine, but this was the strangest yet. The strict old man who insisted on rigorous daily training was just as gray and depressed as the rest of the world around them. What was going on?

"Is something wrong?" Mark asked him.

"Nothing that concerns you," Aurum growled back.

Mark hadn't expected an answer and now he regretted asking in the first place. Still, he knew the old man well enough to know _something_ wasn't right.

"Where's Katana?" he tried again, "she's usually with you, isn't she?"

"Most of them are _always_ with me," Aurum countered in the same gruff tone.

"Fine, then," Mark gave up, "but will you at least help us? Cherry needs to finish her effort training."

"Then finish it," Aurum said as he cast out his line again, "I've already shown you how."

"You showed us how to speed train," Mark pointed out, "but I think Cherry needs stamina training the most now."

Somehow, that seemed to reach Aurum better than anything Mark had said thus far. He turned to face his pupil and the small Charmander-girl he was training.

"You're missing the Leafeon," Aurum noted.

"Yeah, I know," Mark nodded, "she'll be fine. It's Cherry that needs training."

"Alright, then…" Aurum looked at Cherry with that piercing, analytical gaze of his that only experience could give him, "stamina training you say?"

Mark nodded, "she needs it more than anything else." Mark didn't want to explain his reasoning behind it.

A Pokémon's stamina was a general term that represented how much damage a Pokémon could take before it was defeated. Another, more technical term for it, was Hit Points or Health Points. But that was an idea invented by mathematicians that analyzed Pokémon battles and tried to assign numbers to them. They claimed they could do it, but it was impossible to be one-hundred percent accurate. Attack, speed, defense and stamina were general ideas and there was no way to measure them directly. Only general trends between different kinds of Pokémon could really be observed. Nevertheless, people continued to try.

Mark wanted to raise Cherry's stamina because he knew that it was the best and easiest way to help her stay healthy in a battle. She would never possess the attack strength of a Charizard and she would always be frail compared to other human Pokémon she fought. That meant the only way she could compete and surprise her opponents would be if she could take more punishment than what they expected.

He had no clue if it would work.

"You understand that effort training can only do so much, correct?" Aurum asked him. The boy had done his homework and had learned a lot about effort training in a short time. But there was always more to learn when it came to Pokémon.

"I do," Mark nodded. Once Cherry finished her stamina training that would be the end of her effort training. From there, the best way to train her would be to have her battle stronger and stronger opponents and train like any other Pokémon or human Pokémon.

"Then get going," Aurum paused before reaching into the bag seated on his left side. He tossed a colored band to Mark, just like the Power Anklet they had used the day before. This one was even heavier than the last one.

"It's a Power Weight. Put that on your wrist," Aurum turned back to his fishing pole, "if you really want to just train in stamina, then take that and search out Bidoof."

"_Bidoof_?!" Cherry cried out, appalled by the day's target.

"They're the little, brown, furry things that have a face like a beaver," Aurum snapped, "yes, Bidoof! They're not a glamorous opponent, but they're everywhere around the mountain. Fifty again."

"I'll be done before lunch," Cherry muttered, taking the Power Weight and slipping it on her wrist. The weight made her feel lopsided and keeping her arm up was hard work, but she could manage it. Bidoof was only the most boring opponent she could imagine.

"Alright, thank you," Mark sighed, though he didn't feel particularly grateful after Aurum's dismissal, "we'll be back soon." He guided Cherry away from Aurum, back towards the woods.

As they went, he couldn't help but wonder where Eric and Lily were. Mark had been running late and the others could be doing the same, but there was something off about this day. Something about it bothered him.

Maple wasn't by his side, true, but was there something else? He did miss the Leafeon-girl. The two hadn't been separated from each other this long since she had evolved. Well, that was without counting what happened on the first day of the tournament. And Mark preferred not to remember that.

He had been an idiot, then. Trying to forbid Maple from doing what she loved and fighting in the tournament. He had wanted to protect her. And now he was willing to send a ten-year-old little girl into battle so he could have a shot at winning.

Everything was happening so quickly that he could hardly process it all. He had to remind himself to focus on one thing at a time.

First, he needed to train Cherry. Once she was ready, they could take on Lily in the tournament and still be decent competitors. After that, Team Deus needed to be taken care of. After _that_, then maybe they could figure out what in the world Suicune wanted from them. One step at a time.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Was he forgetting something? No, that couldn't be it.

"Do you think Maple's okay?" Cherry suddenly asked as they left the clearing and entered the woods once more.

"She'll be fine," Mark assured her, "she has Kim and Volt looking after her."

"And Sprinkle," Cherry pointed out.

"Right, Sprinkle…" Mark nodded. He had heard about Kim's human Vaporeon from time to time ever since they arrived at the tournament. Seeing her was something else altogether. She was unbelievably attractive. Almost to the point where it was outright overwhelming to be around her. Mark wasn't afraid of girls, but had he ever met anyone quite like Sprinkle? He doubted it.

Maple was cute and one of the prettiest girls Mark had ever seen. But next to Sprinkle? Well, there were some things that Sprinkle had that Maple didn't…

Mark shook his head. What in the _hell_ was he thinking about? He needed to focus. They were here to train Cherry. That needed to be taken care of first.

"Is something wrong?" Cherry asked, referring to Mark's brief panic attack.

"No, I'm fine," Mark reassured her.

"Is it a headache?"

"Never mind," Mark sighed.

* * *

><p>Maple was already in better spirits as she followed Quickstep back to the hotel. The human Mienshao pointed out buildings and shops along the way and gave her a brief little story about each of them. He would also often stop to wave hello to someone through his ridiculous sleeves or make a quick joke that Maple usually didn't understand. He was a very pleasant, cheerful person to be around.<p>

As they neared the hotel, Maple began to wonder how Flurry was doing. Quickstep had said that she was shaken, but otherwise okay. But that didn't make much sense to Maple. Usually a trip to a Pokémon Center was all it took for a human Pokémon to recover from a fight. So, what could be wrong with Flurry that she wasn't all better yet?

And what about PureBlueSky? Maple was about to meet the strongest Pokémon trainer on the island! She could tell him what they had found in the Team Deus base! She might even be able to convince him to help them!

She had a mission again. While Mark was training Cherry, she could get PureBlueSky to help them fight Team Deus. Everything would work out. They could go back to the way things were before. Mark was going to be so proud of her!

"That's more like it," Quickstep grinned when he took notice of the smile spreading across her face. Maple hadn't noticed, but she was walking with a distinctive spring in her step.

"What's more like it?" she asked.

"Nothing," Quickstep spread his palms, beneath his sleeves, "nothing at all."

Maple rocked on her heels and swished her tail as they rode the elevator up to the very top floor of the hotel.

As soon as they stepped off, Maple realized that the rooms on this floor must be enormous. There were only four doors, two on each side of the hallway. Each one had to be at least four times the size of a normal room.

Quickstep led the way to far left door. Rather than use a keycard, he knocked briskly a few times. The boy who opened it was not PureBlueSky and was not a human Pokémon, but Maple recognized him all the same.

"Hey, Quickstep," Ian greeted casually, "who's…_Maple_?!"

"Hi, Ian," Maple grinned at the boy. He ran forward and hugged her, leaving Quickstep to catch the door before it locked them out.

"I missed you!" the thirteen-year-old boy cried.

"I missed you, too!" Maple echoed.

"Geez, you would think it's been years…" Quickstep smirked, though his voice lacked any sarcasm.

But, for the two of them, it felt like it had been years.

"How are you?" Maple asked, breaking off from Ian, "is Flurry here?"

"Yeah…she's here," Ian nodded, "come on in, she'll be glad to see you."

Quickstep held the door as Ian led the way into PureBlueSky's suite. The room was as big as any apartment and twice as nice. It was complete with a fully furnished living room, bathroom, kitchen, and Maple could even see a study down the hallway. A hallway! A hotel room that had a hallway!

"Maple?" the gentle voice of Flurry coming from the living room distracted Maple from looking around the room. She looked over to see the Glaceon-girl sitting up on the couch, a thin bed sheet covering her legs. Flurry had always been pale, but she looked even whiter than what she had the last time Maple had seen her.

"Flurry!" Maple exclaimed, crossing the room in just a few bounding steps. She hugged the older girl as if she were a sister.

"What are you doing here?" Flurry asked, delighted at the unexpected company.

"That'd be my handiwork," Quickstep raised a concealed hand, "the little thing was fighting a nasty-ass Houndoom and I decided to interrupt."

"Oh…alright," Flurry seemed to withdraw into herself at the mention of the dark and fire-type.

"Are you okay, Flurry?" Maple asked as gently as she could. She knelt down on the floor next to the couch, but held onto Flurry's hand. It was shaking.

"It's…it's alright," she managed to stammer out, "but I'll feel better once we find him."

"Find…him?" Maple asked. This was something she did not know.

"Please tell me that you've made sure this isn't him," a deep, melancholic voice sounded from behind Maple. She turned to see none other than PureBlueSky leaning against the wall, next to the door. He was as tall as Quickstep, though much thinner. She had seen him before, at his Round One match. He had looked thin then, but in person he looked almost frail.

"I saw her use Dig and Leaf Blade," Quickstep answered, sneering at his trainer, "I'm sure."

"Fair enough," Sky ignored the contempt in Quickstep's words and turned his attention back to Maple, "you mind telling me who you are, then?"

"Oh…" Maple shot to her feet, nearly tripping herself as she turned to face the champion, "uhh…my name's Maple…and…uhh…"

PureBlueSky blinked and waited.

"Well, the thing is…" she couldn't stop herself from what came next, "see, mytrainer'snameisMark. He'strainingCherryrightnow. Cherry's a Charmander-girl who's also oneofhishumanPokemon. We-we found herinthissecretundergroundba se that's being controlled by these evilevilpeoplecalledTeam Dias, or Deus, I think, Iforgetwhich. But they're doing reallyreallyevilstuff like experimentsandandotherstuff onhumanPokemon. They triedtokidnapme and they're allfightinginthetournament and usingreallyreallyweirdhumanP okemon and I think they're tryingtotakeovertheworld or something 'cause they seemreallyreallypowerful and they're theonesthathavebeen kidnapping other human Pokémon andandand I said that already…Oh wait! We managed toescapefromthem, but there's something bad, like, reallyreallybad downinthebasement and we only gotoutbecausetheyletus and and…and…"

The only reason she stopped was because her throat was dry and her words were starting to crack.

PureBlueSky blinked again.

"Slower, this time," he said.

* * *

><p>AN: I was kind of avoiding using Hit Points, but it does kinda make sense that people would still try to apply numbers like that to real Pokemon.<p>

Anyways, I have to apologize for dropping the ball on that extra chapter idea…and then failing to post a normal one…basically, just don't believe anything I say.

I have been unusually tired and depressed recently. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with how depressed all the characters are right now, but i hope not. My thanksgiving break was really good for me, though. Very relaxing. Even though I got absolutely no writing done…

I'll take another crack at getting an extra chapter done again this week. But, again, don't believe anything I tell you.

Until next time, thanks for reading!

P.S. if the chapter title reminds you of a certain song (that shall remaind nameless), it was unintentional and i simply can't think of a better chapter title at the moment.

i hate that song with a passion.


	69. Sky's Answer

Chapter 67

"Believe me, it's not your fault," Quickstep tried to comfort Maple as they rode the elevator back down to ground level, "like I said, the wizard is just an asshole, plain and simple. He'll rot away to nothing holed up in his tower and die without anybody caring about him."

This had the opposite effect that he intended. The Leafeon-girl looked like she was going to be sick.

"That's horrible!" Maple gasped as she looked at him. She had never expected PureBlueSky to refuse her request. He was the most powerful trainer on the island and he could probably beat everyone in Team Deus by himself. Why would he refuse to help?

_You shouldn't have come to me_, he had told her, _I'm no leader. I can't help you_.

That was it.

He had listened to her entire story, start to finish. He had been calm, patient, he asked questions to help her be clearer and he still refused her. Then he just said a few quick sentences and disappeared. _You shouldn't have come to me. I'm no leader. I can't help you_. And then he turned around, walked back into the study and abandoned them all.

"How could he do something like that?" Maple asked. She _felt_ like she was going to be sick. "Why won't he help?"

"I stopped asking those questions a long time ago," Quickstep hung his head. He had seen it all. He had been human for the entire thing. The Four had fallen apart and instead of working to fix it, Sky had run away. He hadn't even run home. He ran to a tiny corner of the Sinnoh region and resigned to bury himself in ice and snow.

Sky left behind everyone but his own human Pokémon. He took all of them along as if they were his property. Maybe Tempest, Flurry and some of the others would have made that decision all over again, but Quickstep would not. If he knew what the asshole planned on doing, Quickstep would have gladly let him go by himself. His life didn't belong to PureBlueSky. Not anymore. The day he evolved into a human had changed that.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Maple's voice shook, "he was supposed to help us…I was going to bring him back…Mark would've…would've…" She broke off and hid her face from Quickstep.

"Hey, where'd this come from? Dammit, you're not crying, are you?" Quickstep shuffled in place, utterly at a loss for what to do. _Wonderful, Sky, now you're responsible for making this girl cry_. Just when he thought he couldn't loathe his trainer any more, he found new depths to his hatred.

"No…" Maple regained control of herself, "no, I'm okay." She wouldn't let something like this hurt her that much. It was over. Crying wouldn't help her.

The elevator opened and the two stepped out. Quickstep had agreed to escort her to the beach to meet up with Kim. They would go their separate ways from there. Quickstep led the way, politely quiet and careful to set a slow pace.

Maple had to think. What would Mark do in a situation like this? PureBlueSky wouldn't help them. So…what did that mean? She still knew that without a member of the Four, they couldn't attack Team Deus. They wouldn't be strong enough.

So, if that was why they needed PureBlueSky, what difference did it make if she found another member of the Four? What if she could convince RiverofTears or EdgeoftheEarth to help out instead?

"Umm…Quickstep," she called out to the human Mienshao, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Quickstep turned to look at her.

"So, you know all of the members of the Four, right?" she asked.

"Sure do," he nodded back, "what do you want to know?"

"Well, I was wondering if you knew where we could find them…" she began, "if PureBlueSky won't help…do you think the others might?"

"Hmm…" Quickstep scratched his chin, or tried to despite his overly-long sleeves, "it's tough to say. Aurum? Definitely, no. He's even worse than Sky with helping people. Edge or River? Now those two I'm not so sure."

"Can we go ask them?" Maple asked. She had already been rejected once. A second time couldn't hurt worse than the first. But, if all three of them said no…

"Well," Quickstep weighed their options, "I think you're better off going to see RiverofTears's human Pokémon first. They're a bit more friendly than most."

"Really?" Maple brightened, "okay…can we do that, then?"

"Sure," Quickstep nodded, "be warned, though, they'll know you're coming," inexplicably, he looked up into the sky, "yes, I'm talking about you, Astral! Thanks to your prying ass I can't pick up chicks the way Arceus intended!"

"Huh?" Maple asked.

"It's nothing," Quickstep grinned, "though after this…you might start censoring your thoughts a bit more."

"Censoring my thoughts?" Maple was even more confused.

"It's a surprise," Quickstep suppressed a chuckle, "don't say I didn't warn you, though." Maple's guide began to walk passed her, heading in the direction of Palkia's Woods.

_Actually, you really haven't warned me about anything_, Maple thought.

Suddenly, she had a sixth sense that somewhere, someone was suppressing laughter of their own.

* * *

><p>After the Leafeon-girl left, Sky started having trouble concentrating on what he was doing. Why did people keep coming to him for help lately? Like he told the girl, he wasn't a leader and he wasn't a hero.<p>

Sky wasn't even sure if he believed in heroes at all, these days. He might have once believed that the Four could be heroes and even were.

Look how that turned out.

Everyone on the island might still revere them as being invincible paragons and the leaders of their little society, but they were worshipping dead heroes. That had taught Sky something valuable. People hung on to their heroes long after they stopped being heroic. They refused to give up the hope that their heroes had once given them.

The Four were never heroes. Not in the way that the people on Himitsu Island told the story. They trained, they fought, and they grew strong together, but did that make them heroes? No, Sky didn't think so. They were just a group of friends doing what they loved.

Alfred Silph was the man who made them into heroes. He spread the word that three kids and an old man had been training human Pokémon on an island in the middle of nowhere. He found others like them, brought them together and made a tournament. Then, before they knew it, their names were being whispered between human Pokémon and their trainers all around the world. That was when they became heroes.

Before then, they were as nameless as anyone else. It was those whispers that made them into what they were. Those tales of the three kids and an old man that had found an old magic and were changing the world.

Heroes didn't make heroes. People made heroes.

But strip away the stories and the fame that Silph generated from nothing and what was left? Sky was still a pale, skinny, shut-in that never told River that he loved her. Aurum was still a grouchy, bitter old man that still fought with Pokémon even though he should have stopped decades ago. Edge was still a cocky, wise-ass, whose mouth got him into more trouble than what he could handle. And River…well…Sky skipped River.

Out of the four of them, Sky was the least likely to lead this collection of drifters and rejects that had gathered together on Himitsu Island. Aurum was the most experienced, Edge the most daring, and River was the kindest and most caring. What did that make Sky? The others had the true qualities that leaders needed, not him.

And where was Silph during all of this? He was the one who used them to create this hidden world. What did he intend to do with it? No one could be so selfless to go through all of that effort without wanting something in return.

And yet, twice now people had come to Sky looking for help. Maybe it was just convenient that way. Alex had been Sky's opponent, but any of the others would have done the same and the Leafeon girl hadn't come just to talk to him. Where could the others possibly be that PureBlueSky, the self-proclaimed shut-in, was actually easier to find?

_Why_? He asked himself, _because I'm the champion_.

He often forgot about it, but there was authority in a title like that. Especially amongst Pokémon trainers. It meant power, skill, knowledge and a dedication that not everyone could possess.

But what did it really prove? What did he accomplish from devoting his life to training and battling Pokémon? Was he a stronger, better person than he would've been if he never even started? Again, he doubted it.

So, where did that leave him?

For all of the cheering of the crowd, he was still a sad, lonely person. All of those people that screamed his name when he stepped out onto the battlefield wanted him to be a hero. They needed him to be a hero. And he just couldn't tell them how much of a failure he really was.

If heroes were real, then he hoped they were better than him.

* * *

><p>"How long has he been in there?" Tempest peered at the door to the study. It was always open, whether Sky was in there or not. She had returned to the room to find out that Sky was throwing a temper tantrum and had locked himself in his room like a moody teenager.<p>

And here she thought they had been making progress…

"Half an hour," Flurry answered with a shake of her head, "ever since Maple left…"

"Maple?"

"A Leafeon-girl," Flurry explained, "didn't we tell you? Ian and I met her after Aurum's match. He's been training her along with her trainer and whatever other human Pokémon he has."

"You may have mentioned it," Tempest said noncommittally. Her gaze did not leave the closed door. "What did she want?"

"She had some information about a group called Team Deus," Flurry could not keep the fear and apprehension out of her voice, "she and a few others found a laboratory and holding station beneath the docks. Whoever these people are, they're already well-established and active. They're probably the ones that are behind the world-wide disappearances of human Pokémon."

"Our very own Team Rocket, huh?" Tempest scoffed. Of course there was one. There would always be one. If it wasn't Team Rocket, there was Team Magma and Aqua, and Team Galactic…and now Team Plasma skulking around the Unova region. Most of them were short-lived, but there was always one. Apparently there was one for the human Pokémon, as well.

"Sky said he wouldn't help," Flurry had never sounded so hopeless before, "and then he just turned around and locked himself in the study."

"For half an hour?" Tempest looked over her shoulder at Flurry. The Glaceon-girl looked so weak and helpless there. She might be a child sick with the flu. But she had misread the situation. She had been with Sky even longer than Tempest had, but she still hadn't learned how Sky thought. Not the way that Tempest had.

He made an abrupt, cold-hearted decision, then turned around and started brooding over what he had just done. It might not look like it, but they _were_ making progress.

Looking for a vanishing murderer was easy. Sky could tell Tempest and the others to search by themselves while Sky retreated back into his corner of the world. It took no commitment and they could hardly be blamed if they failed.

This, on the other hand, was big. The Leafeon-girl didn't just ask him for a favor. She asked him to find out who these people were, track them down, and bring them to justice. Sky couldn't do something like that alone. But all he would need to do was gather up a few more trainers and supporters and he would have the forces he needed. They would rally behind their champion and overcome any obstacle to protect the tiny world that they were building.

Undoubtedly, the little Leafeon-girl had no idea what she had asked him.

Tempest strode up to the door and knocked lightly.

"Sky? Can I come in?" she asked. She listened to him shuffle around on the other side for a little while before the door opened. He was rubbing his forehead.

"What is it?" he groaned.

"Can I come in?" she asked again.

"Sure, whatever…" Sky muttered, turning back to the desk.

The room was dark, but Tempest fixed it by walking over to the window and throwing the curtains wide. The gray light of the day wasn't much, but it would be better than shutting it out entirely. Sky flinched away from the light, but he did not complain aloud. He adjusted to it after a moment.

"So," Tempest turned, trying to decide how to begin, "I heard that you're hiding from a little girl?"

"Shut up," Sky groaned.

"Must have been a terrifying sight for you to lock yourself in your room," Tempest taunted. But this time, Sky just ignored her.

_Alright_, Tempest sighed, _no more games_.

"Flurry told me what happened," Tempest admitted, "what she asked you to do."

"What about it?"

"I don't think you wanted to say 'no.' Not really."

Sky didn't answer. Nor did he look at her, but he was listening. Tempest continued.

"Sky, I've been with you for a very long time," she approached the desk, "you're stronger than you think. You beat yourself up and say you're not good enough, but there's more to it than that. You _want_ to be better. You _want _to prove to yourself that you're good enough. That girl gave you that chance. So, why did you throw it away?"

She didn't want an answer, but she paused anyway. Sky remained expressionless.

"I'll tell you why," she continued, "it's because you're afraid of getting hurt again. You're afraid of getting attached to someone and losing them again. You won't let _yourself _become stronger. You're working against yourself."

"I know that, Tempest," Sky whispered, "I've known that for years. But, so what? What difference does it make? I'm not strong enough to fix it. I can't fix myself!"

"I know…" Tempest nodded and knelt down beside him. This was the part that would hurt the most. When she had to admit that she failed him.

"But I think I know someone who can."

This time, Sky looked at her. What was the expression in his eyes? Hope? Fear? Maybe they were the same…

"River…" Sky said.

Tempest nodded.

He leaned back in his chair, breathing deeply and thinking.

"Tomorrow," he said it with more conviction than what Tempest expected. The old Sky that had surfaced when they fought Whisper was coming back once more. Tempest nodded again and stood up to leave.

"Tomorrow."

* * *

><p>AN: blast…apparently I really can't go any faster than one chapter a week. I blame the season, mostly. I'm too tired to do much more than go to work and come home and go to bed during the week. stupid winter…<p>

Maybe once it's spring again.

Anyways, I don't think I have anything special to say this week.

So, once again, thanks for reading and I'll be back again next week!


	70. The Killer Born in Flame

Chapter 68

Ebony put her hand over her mouth to help stifle a yawn.

"Why did you two have to drag me along, again?" she grumbled to Cara and Serenade as they left the little boy's hotel room. The Honchkrow-woman adjusted her fedora and rubbed her right eye. Ten o'clock in the morning was simply too early to be doing anything.

"No one forced you to come, sweetie," Serenade said gently, "but with the triplets practicing, we had to choose between the sleepy one and the grouchy one. Who would you have taken?"

"Alright, fine…" Ebony shook her head. She didn't agree with Serenade's view of the situation, but here was certainly better than hanging around Sparks. The human Luxray was easily the worst company she could imagine. Even being left alone for this short trip would've driven her insane. "At least we got what we came for, right?"

"Better," Cara chimed in from ahead of them. Their trainer was in a much better mood after speaking to Eric. Now they knew the truth behind that man in the purple suit and they might even be able to do something about it.

"Do you really believe what he said?" Serenade asked, "He could be lying to us."

"No, I believe him," Cara said, "as ridiculous as all of that sounded, I still believe him. The question is: what do we do now?"

"Well, the kid said he knew some other people that could help, right?" Ebony asked.

"Right…" Cara agreed, "And it'll take some time to get them all together."

"What about us?"

"Well," Cara thought, "first we need to talk to Alex. Let him know what we found out." She couldn't help grinning to herself. From the very start, she knew that there wasn't much hope. But still, Whisper's escape had been far too easy. Without help, Alex would have caught him. And if that was true, who in their right mind would take Whisper in.

Admittedly, Cara knew very little about Whisper. Alex had only said that he was brutal, powerful and near impossible to control. Whenever she pressed him for details about what he had done, Alex would shut her out and would refuse to tell her anything. The battle against PureBlueSky was the most that she had seen of Whisper's murderous darkness.

That had been traumatic enough, for her. Even from her distant location in the stands, Cara could feel the intensity and the maniacal joy Whisper took in burning PureBlueSky's Glaceon-girl. It was no wonder that Alex had never told her the details.

But that was no longer important. Soon they would have allies to help them track down Whisper. PureBlueSky was searching the city without knowing where to look. Thanks to Eric and his friends, they knew where Whisper had gone. They were ready to chase him down and keep him from hurting anyone ever again.

With Serenade and Ebony behind her, Cara knocked on the door to Alex's room.

Nothing happened for a few minutes and Cara knocked again. She knocked a third time before the door creaked open. Cascade, the blond Seaking-girl, stood sheepishly to the side to give Cara room to enter.

Before she did, Cara paused and peered at her. Alex and his entire team of human-Pokémon had all but broken down after Whisper escaped. The burden of knowing what they had allowed to escape was torturing them all.

However, that was before Cara had learned where he was.

Alex sat in a chair on the far side of the room, looking out at the gray sky over top of the city. He and Cascade were alone in the room. His other two human Pokémon, Dozer and Coraline, were probably hidden away inside their Pokéballs. Alex did not look up as Cara walked over to him.

"Uhh…what's up?" Cara asked, suddenly nervous to deliver Alex the good news.

"Meh…" Alex shrugged.

"That good, huh?"

Alex did not answer.

"Well, I have good news," Cara plunged into it, "I think I know where we can find Whisper. He's with-"

"Cara," Alex interrupted, "please, don't go after Whisper."

"What?"

"Don't go after him," Alex repeated, "he's too powerful and too dangerous."

Cara waited for him to continue, but he simply didn't.

"_That's it_?!" Cara yelled at him, "You're giving up just like that?"

"You would understand if you knew what I knew," Alex dismissed her.

"Alright," Cara took the challenge, "then _help me understand_. Tell me what happened."

"Believe me," Alex warned, "you don't want to know."

Cara bit her lip in her anger. Was he right? There certainly was something very sinister about Whisper. It was instinct. Instinct told Cara that she _needed_ to fear him. She needed to run and hide and protect herself from the creature that his own trainer was terrified of. But she wouldn't let herself be defeated by something like that.

"That's bullshit," she spat, "that's bullshit and you know it."

"Cara, I'm telling you to drop it," Alex stubbornly continued, "You don't want to know."

"BULLSHIT!" Cara screamed at him, "I'm not some weak little kid! Don't tell me what I can't handle!"

"Cara, please," Cascade spoke up. Cara had nearly forgotten the human Pokémon were even in the room. "We've been through a lot these past few days. Please, don't make this worse."

Cara whirled on her. "Do _you_ even know what happened?" she accused the Seaking-girl.

"I…I…" Cascade stammered, taking a step back.

"Cascade knows," Alex answered for her, "and so do Coraline and Dozer. We've had to deal with Whisper for over two years." He paused and took a deep breath. "Cara, he's gone. Let it go. We're safer now."

"Safer doesn't mean better," Cara snapped.

"Cara…" Alex shook his head, "what can I say to make you understand?"

"You can start from the beginning," she suggested, with acid in her voice.

* * *

><p>Two years ago was the first time Whisper ever killed.<p>

Alex remembered facing a young boy, a newcomer to human Pokémon. He fought with only a female, human Ninetales. The young woman appeared to be in her mid-twenties. She wore a form-fitting cream colored dress that seemed to blend in with her skin. Her long hair and her nine flowing tails were colored that same, gentle cream. Her eyes, however, were a deep red. Her face, though slightly narrow, possessed a unique beauty. And a sly smile touched her lips when she emerged from her Pokéball to face Whisper.

At that time, Whisper and Alex were still friends. Cascade, Coraline and Dozer were all humans and significantly stronger than what they had been. But it was Whisper who was growing the fastest of them all. Without question, he was Alex's strongest.

Even before that day, Alex had noticed Whisper's drive to gain more power. He rarely suffered defeats, but even when they won, it wasn't enough for Whisper. There were strongest opponents in the world and Whisper was ambitious enough to want to defeat them all. What Alex did not know was how far he was willing to go to prove it.

"You ready?" Alex asked him. For this particular battle, Whisper was disguised as Dozer, the enormous human Snorlax. The form made him look clumsy and doughy. A wonderfully misleading disguise.

Ninetales shouldn't have been a difficult opponent. They were fast, but they lacked the offensive power of many other fire-types. Alex had heard of several Ninetales that could increase the heat of the sun simply by appearing on a battlefield. Power like that would have been overwhelming for Whisper back then. That particular Ninetales, however, did not possess that ability. Often, Alex wondered if the future would have turned out differently if she did.

"I'll be fine," Whisper assured his trainer. Over time, his voice and manner would darken with his contempt towards his trainer. But back then, Whisper still had some humanity left in him.

"Soulflame, start with a Nasty Plot," the battle began as the boy issued his order.

The woman's sly smile spread wider as she concentrated. She snickered to herself and peered at Whisper.

Many experts were still unclear about the specifics of how Nasty Plot worked. Much like Swords Dance, it was a concentration technique. Special abilities like Thunderbolt and Psychic increased in power by staggering levels. Physical strikes, on the other hand, were totally unaffected.

"Make a Substitute," Alex ordered.

Whisper concentrated briefly, creating the shade that would step in for him when the time was right. When he was finished, he began to dash towards his opponent. The massive Snorlax form did not slow him down in the slightest.

"Wait, what the hell?!" Alex's opponent exclaimed, "Snorlax can't move that fast! Flamethrower!"

"Suckerpunch."

The Ninetales-woman drew in a deep breath to attack, but Whisper reached her first and punched her as hard as he could straight into her stomach. Soulflame was only stunned for a moment and Whisper didn't even have time to draw back his fist before he was bathed in flames from her attack. The substitute broke apart and the illusion faded, turning Whisper back into his true form.

"Surprise," Whisper grinned, shaking down his long, red hair. He expected to see his opponent react with shock or even terror, but she only continued to grin at him. He dropped back and put more distance between them.

There was something off about Soulflame. Alex couldn't quite explain it. She had barely been hurt by Whisper's Suckerpunch. She didn't appear to be wounded, but more than that, she didn't even react to the pain.

"Is that the best you can do, handsome?" the Ninetales-woman taunted. Her voice was as sly as the smile on her lips. Her nine tails rippled in an enthusiastic wave.

"Just getting started," Whisper returned. Without waiting for an order, he fired a Night Daze at her. The wave of dark energy spread outward from his palm and caught Soulflame with a direct hit to her forehead. She made no effort to dodge or defend herself. Yet as the Night Daze dissipated, she only needed to shake her head briefly to brush off the pain.

"Pitiful…" she scoffed, "my turn." The next time was her chance to act without orders.

Whisper tried to raise a Substitute, but he was a moment too late. The jet of flame seared his skin and caused him to scream out in pain and rage. When it was over, Whisper lied on the ground, his damaged body smoldering.

"Over already…" Soulflame pouted, "That was hardly any fun at all. I thought you said this guy was good."

"Clearly nowhere near as good as us," her trainer boasted. Alex could not remember what the boy's name had been or even what he looked like. But despite all of his jeering, Alex could only remember the boy with pity in his heart.

When Whisper stood up, he wasn't the same anymore.

Alex could not say what went through his mind as he lied there. Maybe he was thinking about revenge. Maybe about how weak he was in the face of Soulflame. Maybe he just wanted to win to make Alex proud of him. Or maybe some animalistic demon woke up inside of him that day and refused to go back to rest, but only wanted him to fight, attack, draw blood…and kill. Maybe none of them, maybe all of them. The only thing Alex knew was that his eyes were different. His dark eyes had been red before. But from that day forward, they were always the color of blood.

"What? Want some mo-" Soulflame's sentence was cut short when Whisper shot at her in a blur and Suckerpunched her directly in the throat. Gasping desperately for air, she staggered backwards and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Whisper did not wait.

He grasped her forehead in the palm of his hand and released another Night Daze. This time, Soulflame's eyes glazed over for moment as the blow shook her very being. She convulsed for a second before Whisper tossed her aside. She lied on the ground, still gasping and coughing up blood while a trickle of the red liquid leaked out of her nose. A moment later, she slipped into unconsciousness

"Ooooh, sweeeet Arceus…" Whisper breathed in and out, slowly. He held out his palms and gazed at them as though it was the first time. "Sooo much power. All of it…just waiting for me. Locked away all this time. Just waiting…waiting for me. All I had to do was let it in and take it…" He turned to the Ninetales-woman lying in a shattered heap on the ground. "And you…you want some more?"

"WHISPER!" Alex screamed, "what are you doing?! STOP IT!"

Whisper turned to look at his trainer. A moment ago they were friends. What were they now?

Soulflame's trainer was shaking as he fumbled with her Pokéball. He managed to recall his battered and unconscious partner. But he was too slow to run away.

Whisper cut him off and stared down at the horrified boy as if weighing out what he wanted to do.

"I'm not done with her," Whisper growled at the boy, "leave her and I'll let you go."

The boy staggered back, Soulflame's Pokéball still clenched in his shaking hands. His legs slipped out from under him and the Pokéball went flying into the air. When it hit the ground, Soulflame appeared and the boy ran.

Alex never saw him again.

"Now then," Whisper reached down and pulled Soulflame's limp body up, grasping her by her hair. Her tails dragged limply along the ground. "Wake up, you pretty, pretty little bitch."

Whisper shook her body like a lifeless doll. Alex could only stare in horrified shock as Whisper transformed into an outright monster. After a few moments, Soulflame's eyes slowly opened. She began to whimper, helpless in his grasp.

"Please…" she pleaded.

"What's wrong?" Whisper sneered at her, "you liked it a minute ago?"

"It's done…" she whimpered, "It's over…please…"

"Maybe it is," Whisper nodded, "but I sure as hell don't want to ever stop."

"Then let me go…" Soulflame begged.

"No," Whisper shook his head. Soulflame cringed, trying in vain to pull away from him.

"_What do you want from me_?" she began to cry as she pleaded with him.

"It's easy," Whisper told her, "even you should be able to do it."

"Please…" a tiny bit of hope returned to Soulflame's voice, "tell me, please! I'll do anything!"

"Scream."

It echoed for miles around. High-pitched and blood-curdling. Alex could still hear it in his sleep some nights. It seemed to stretch on forever.

Then it stopped.

* * *

><p>As Alex finished the story, Cara realized that her leg was shaking. She didn't know how long it had been doing that. She tried concentrating on it, to make it stop, but it kept right on going anyway.<p>

Alex leaned back, closed his eyes and breathed deep.

"After that," Cascade spoke up, trying to help her trainer, "it took all of us to get him under control."

"W-w-why would you keep him after that?" Cara stammered.

"I don't know," Alex admitted, "I think it's because we used to be friends. We wanted to cure him. We just didn't know how. All we could do was watch him and feed him battles and try not to let him kill." Alex couldn't even look at her anymore. "But he's too strong for us, now. He could kill again. And it's all my goddamned fault…"

Cara had never seen Alex weep before. In fact, she had never seen any boy cry. Ever. She had no idea what she was supposed to do, so she did exactly what she wanted to do. She stood up, walked out of the room and left him alone.

* * *

><p>AN: So…yeah…<p>

This is pretty much going to be the end of the line for Alex. No, he's not going to kill himself or anything like that. He's just not going to be around for a very, very, VERY long time. This is, more or less, the end of his storyline. Depressing, isn't it?

Overall, I'm not hugely sad to see him go. Pretty much all of his plotline was dedicated to introducing Whisper and telling his back story. And now that that's done, there isn't much for him to do and I have PLENTY of other characters to work with anyway.

oh, in case you missed it, Whisper's sudden power boost and bloodthirsty rampage is triggered by the first time he activates the Red State. yes, the very same Red State that Maple and several of the Four's human Pokemon rely on. just think about that for a little bit.

i haven't been able to use the Red State too much recently, but believe me, it's not gone.

Anyways…I guess that's it for this week. Do yourself a favor and go do something that makes you happy now.

Thanks for reading!


	71. The Meadow Sisters

Chapter 69

_Mark's in there, somewhere_, Maple thought as she and Quickstep approached the edge of Palkia's Woods. The trees looked bigger that day. Taller. They stretched towards the bleak sky, searching for where it ended.

She wondered if they might meet Mark in those woods. Her stomach was in knots as they passed the tree line. Palkia's Woods always felt bigger on the inside, but still…what had Katana told them again? That all you needed to do was think of a location and the woods would take you there? Did that mean that if she thought about Mark too much she'd leave Quickstep?

Maybe. But maybe that would be better than meeting him _alongside_ Quickstep. The human Mienshao was nice and everything, but he certainly wasn't Kim. Would Mark be mad to see her walking around with Quickstep? Maybe…though, Mark didn't really get mad about that sort of thing.

Maple took a breath and reminded herself why she was there. Mark was somewhere in these woods training Cherry, yes. But she had a job to do. Meet RiverofTears's human Pokémon and try to get their help. Once that was done, then she could see Mark again.

Still…what was he doing? Were he and Cherry both okay? When Cherry had fought the Aipom, Maple had to rescue her once. They might need her help again…

And as much as Maple was worrying about Mark, was he just as worried about her? Or was all of his attention on Cherry? Maybe if Cherry was doing well, he might have some time to think about other things…like her.

Or did he think about something else…maybe somebody else…maybe Sprinkle?

"H-how far is it?" Maple asked Quickstep, trying to distract herself.

"Won't be too much farther," Quickstep answered, "once we reach the river, we'll follow it downstream. That's the easiest way to find them."

"Towards the ocean?" Maple asked hesitantly, "the beach?" She had only encountered sand a few times before she had evolved. As a Leafeon and an Eevee, she hated the grainy feel of it between her toes. It was also near-impossible to clean. After meeting Sprinkle, her dislike for the beach only increased.

"Not that far down," Quickstep corrected, "there's a flower meadow about a mile in-land. That's their favorite spot. In all likelihood, they'll be there."

"Oh, okay," Maple said, equally relieved and further confused. She had assumed from her name that RiverofTears specialized in water Pokémon. If that was true, wouldn't the beach be the best place for them? Water Pokémon should prefer the beach.

But what did she really know about RiverofTears? The only one of her human Pokémon Maple had ever seen was Teardrop, the Milotic-woman, from the opening ceremonies. The rest were a mystery to her. They might not be water-types at all.

At first, Maple thought that the sound of rushing water coming through the woods was just her imagination.

"Alright," Quickstep called back, "now we just need to head south for a bit and we should find them."

"Okay," Maple agreed.

She could only hear the river and not really see it, but she wondered if it was the same river that flowed from the lake that Aurum fished at. If that was true, then all she needed to do was turn around and start walking the other way and she would find Mark.

Most of the stories that Maple had heard when she was small had some sort of symbolic lesson in them. Something like, "Don't Take Sweets from Strangers" or maybe something more like, "Friendship Conquers Evil." They were nice and all, but sometimes Maple wanted stories to just be stories.

But as she thought about how easy it would be to turn around and go find Mark, she couldn't help feeling that it was symbolic, somehow. She didn't want to leave Mark behind, but was that what she was doing?

No. She would be back. She shook her head. Symbols were stupid, anyway.

"How much farther?" Maple asked, growing impatient. Did Quickstep not know the shortcuts that Katana did? They should have arrived already…

"I'm not sure, exactly," Quickstep said a little too light-hearted for Maple, right then, "I try to avoid the place whenever possible."

That didn't answer Maple's question, but his tone suggested that she wouldn't get a better one.

They walked for another ten minutes, the wild Pokémon in the area changing as they went. The common Wurmple became Weedle instead. Here and there a few Kakuna were stuck to the trees. Thankfully, Maple didn't see any Beedrill. She was confident that she could defeat…pretty much any of them, but the huge, aggressive bug-types were never one of Maple's favorites, to say the least.

The trees alongside the river began to thin out and Maple started to see it as well as hear it. The water was just as clear downstream as what it was at Aurum's lake. And, just like the lake, the river was alive with water Pokémon. The river was filled with the always-present Magikarp while Poliwag waddled in small groups along the shore. Maple smiled at the little tadpoles with legs.

One of them caught her gaze, but like usual, the tiny thing made an indignant squeaking noise and foam began to bubble up around its mouth. The others noticed what it was doing and also began mimicking what must have been a very offensive gesture to them. Maple kept her head down and trotted a little to catch up to Quickstep.

"Here we are," Quickstep said, before calling out, "hey, Tear! Good to see you!"

Maple peered around him to see the very same Milotic-woman she remembered from the opening ceremonies. Teardrop sat on a small ridge jutting overtop of the river. She sat with the end of her feet dipped into the water. She was dressed in the same outfit she had worn that day; a plain white tank-top and a long skirt speckled with blotches of red and blue bordered by black. A long lock of red hair fell over each shoulder and one down the center of her back.

She looked lonely, sitting there. There were no Pokémon within at least fifteen yards of her. When she looked up, her expression appeared as though she were waking up from a dream.

"Quickstep?" she asked, blinking her pale red eyes slowly.

"Yessir," Quickstep chirped, bounding forward to greet her, "you out here all by yourself?"

"Hmm?" Teardrop looked around the area, still half-asleep, "looks like I am." Covering her mouth, she gave a small yawn and stretched her arms behind her head.

"Umm…" Maple spoke up, but was reluctant to step closer to Teardrop, "hello…my name's Maple…"

"Hmm?" Teardrop yawned again before looking at the Leafeon-girl, "I apologize…Maple, you said? Katana's Maple?"

"Oh, yeah!" Maple perked up at the mention of her tutor, "she's been helping me a lot!"

"I know…" Teardrop lowered her head a very small amount, "you're lucky. She doesn't train many others. Usually she just wants to fight Tempest…" Teardrop's gaze dropped back to the water. She swirled it with her toes and watched the ripples spread outward.

"Where's everybody else?" Quickstep interrupted, his eyes searching the area.

"Somewhere over there," Teardrop waved towards the opposite side of the river. Though not immense, the river was too wide to cross. It was at least thirty feet from one bank to the other and there was no bridge nearby. "I assume you need a ride." Teardrop slowly rose to her feet and stretched once more.

"Well, not all of us can Surf," Quickstep pointed out, "just go easy on the first-timer." He jerked his head towards Maple.

Maple suddenly grew alarmed at the word. Surf? She knew what it was, certainly. Trainers could ride their own water Pokémon using Surf, but how could Teardrop take them across the river? The mental image of standing on Teardrop's back while she swam through the water seemed much too absurd to be true.

"It's alright," Teardrop consoled. Her voice was light and flowing, now that she was fully awake. "It's nothing to be afraid of." She held out her hand. Maple stepped forward to take it while Quickstep stood on the opposite side, holding her other hand through his sleeve.

"You'll only get a tiny bit wet," Teardrop insisted, "just step out with me…" Teardrop and Quickstep each stepped down onto the water with Maple only a moment behind them. Maple didn't even realize what had happened until they were done.

The three of them were not standing _in_ the water. They were standing _on top of it_. The waves lapped at the sides of their feet.

"Now, just stay calm…" Teardrop said, smooth and velvety. Even still, Maple started in alarm as a much larger wave bubbled up behind them. The wave rose up almost to knee height before spreading outward. As it did so, the three human Pokémon began to be propelled forward across the water to the opposite bank.

Maple felt her legs lock in place. She didn't move even the tiniest bit; for fear that it would break the technique or Teardrop's concentration. Out in the middle of the river, the water was deep enough that Maple would be soaked up to her waist the instant she fell in.

She looked down for only a second, but she was glad that she did. The water was clear and beautiful. It did not sparkle, but it was wonderful nevertheless. A Basculin was racing through the water, right underneath her feet. It rose up a few inches and she could feel the scales on its back before it dove deeper and broke away.

"Here we are…" Teardrop cooed as the wave slowed to a stop and they arrived on the opposite bank. The trip took no longer than a few minutes. Maple already wanted to do it again.

"Alright, thanks very much, Tear," Quickstep said coolly as he stepped onto dry land.

"Holy Arceus! That was awesome!" Maple shrieked, leaping onto the grass. She kicked into the air a few times, flinging water as she did so.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Teardrop smiled briefly before dropping her gaze once more, "if it's alright with you…" she hesitated a moment, "I'd like to stay here."

"Huh?" Maple stopped celebrating to look at the young Milotic-woman, "are you sure?"

"Yes," Teardrop nodded, "it's…peaceful here." Maple was about to ask her why when Quickstep spoke up.

"Of course, Tear," he nodded, steering Maple away with the sleeve of his left hand, "go back to your nap."

"Thank you, Quickstep," Teardrop sat down onto the bank, stretching her legs out so that her feet touched the surface of the water.

"Shouldn't she come with us?" Maple asked, "Isn't she…well, RiverofTears's strongest? She should come, right?"

"She's River's favorite," Quickstep answered, "but she's not really the one in charge. That would be the three that we're going to see."

"Who are we going to see, then?"

"They call themselves the Meadow Sisters," Quickstep sighed, "none of them are related, though. Don't ask. They're all nuts, if you ask me."

Quickstep took the lead again as they continued. The trees began to grow thinner as they left the river behind. They soon came to a small hill that crested into a clearing and…

Maple stopped just so she could admire the sight.

Once, when she was a Leafeon, Mark had taken her to the flower meadows in Floaroma Town. Alongside her trainer, she had played for hours in endless flowers. Then and now, her own idea of heaven would be to go back to that moment. The only difference was: she wanted to be human for it.

The flower meadow before her was not as grand as Floaroma Town, but Maple still stood in awe of row after row of beautiful flowers. Few things in life were more beautiful than a flower meadow.

"This wasn't always here, actually," Quickstep informed her, though she was hardly listening, "Briar made it."

"Briar?" Maple came out of her flower-induced coma long enough to ask. As she looked over the field, she could pick out a few figures standing amidst the rows of yellow and pink and white.

One of them took to the air and began flitting towards her. A large set of insect-wings fluttered rapidly to keep the figure airborne. At first, Maple thought it was a true Butterfree. But as the girl came closer she began to make out the long, brunette hair and the thin limbs that were plainly human. The girl wore a sparkling purple tunic that ended in the shortest skirt Maple had ever seen. Small ballerina shoes tipped her feet, making her look like a fairy straight out of a story book. In addition to her wings, the girl also had a pair of antennae sprouting from the top of her head. Her large eyes were a shining pink and seemed to have many different segments to them, much like an insect's eyes. Surprisingly, the effect was actually very pretty.

"SweetsweetsweetArceus! It's you! It's reallyreallyyou!" the fairy-girl spoke so fast that even Maple had difficulty following her speech. She moved in dizzying circles through the air around Maple's head.

"Me?" Maple managed to stammer out.

"Yesyesyes!" the girl squealed.

"Pixie, sloooow…doooown…" for emphasis, the end of Quickstep's sleeve began to lower a little bit at a time. It had no effect.

"C'monc'monc'mon!" the Butterfree-girl, who was apparently named Pixie, grasped Maple's hand and began tugging her forward toward the flowers. Maple might have protested if they were walking towards anything different.

"Holy Arceus!" another voice called from somewhere beyond Pixie's fluttering wings, "she's so _cute_!"

The next figure to come rushing up to meet the Leafeon-girl was yet another female human Pokémon. Despite the late-spring heat, the young woman was dressed in a light-weight fur coat and a flowing, white scarf that was so long it reached down to her knees. Her steel-gray hair made her look older than what she truly was, but it was somewhat balanced out by the bright, lively look in her brown eyes. Her large, rounded ears twitched excitedly as she bounced up to meet Maple. She was small, slight and somewhat mousy, as only a human Cincinno could be.

"Cashmere! It'sherit'sherit'sher!" Pixie screeched.

"_What about me_?" Maple asked again, but she was just as easily ignored.

"What was it like?!" the Cincinno-woman squeaked, "What was it like when PureBlueSky turned you down?"

"Huh?" Maple stared, "well, it was-" She was about to say that it was "awful," but both girls began chattering as one while dragging her along towards the center of the flower meadow.

Pixie cursed PureBlueSky and men in general, as being useless and lazy. Cashmere's remarks were only slightly less sexist, but they were equally unkind. Though the two seemed to agree, they spoke as if they didn't. Each new remark was more absurd than the last and Maple's head was soon spinning. They finally stopped chattering when they were only a few feet from the last of the three Meadow Sisters.

Briar, the creator of the meadow, was a human Roserade. Of the three, she was the most elegantly dressed. Her dress was two-toned, forest and dark green. The skirt extended down to just above the knee while her light green stockings stopped just short of them. A deep green cape, bordered by gold was draped over her shoulders. Each hand was gloved in a different color; one a scarlet red, the other cerulean blue. Her shoulder-length hair was silver; not blond or gray, but a metallic silver.

She was kneeling as Pixie and Cashmere first dragged Maple over, but she stood up smoothly as the girls crowded around her. The Roserade-woman was clearly the oldest of the Meadow Sisters, the most mild-mannered, and probably their leader. If Maple was going to enlist their help, this was the woman that she needed to convince.

"Maple," she said it as gently as a grandmother might, "welcome."

"Umm…" Maple was stunned by the total silence that fell when this woman spoke, "hello…are you Briar?"

"I am."

"Oh, well…" Maple stumbled on how to begin. She hadn't thought of what she could say to them.

"Tell me," Briar beckoned, "how did Sky look to you? I've heard that he's not eating much these days."

"Well, he's…" Maple paused, catching herself. How did Briar know that she had talked to PureBlueSky? That wasn't even an hour ago.

"Don't worry, my dear," Briar took Maple's hand away from Pixie and patted it, "we pride ourselves on being well informed of the latest gossip," she deliberately paused for dramatic effect, "For instance…did you know that PureBlueSky is indeed considering your offer?"

"He…_what_?!"

"Yes," the Roserade-woman smiled, "it came as quite a shock to us, as well," once again she paused, each word she spoke carried a deliberate weight to it, "Tempest, bless her heart, can be very persuasive when she wants to be. Of course, it was you who helped to open Sky's eyes."

"Me? Really?" Maple could hardly believe that idea. To think that _she_ could help convince PureBlueSky to do some good!

"But, alas…" Briar sighed heavily, "Part of their deal was that Sky must confess his feelings to our own, lovely, Rachel. A deed that I fear he is still incapable of."

"Rachel?"

"That's RiverofTears's real name," Cashmere put in.

"Too true," Briar nodded, "lately, however, she has been separating herself from her alias. Unlike Sky who barely remembers what his real name is."

"Umm…okay…" Maple nodded. There was something going on here that she didn't understand. "But, wait. How did you know I talked to PureBlueSky anyway?"

"In due time, dear," Briar took Maple's hand once more and began to kneel down among the flowers again, "first you must tell us about your adventures on our little island. We'd love to hear you tell them."

At first, Maple did not join Briar. If the Roserade-woman knew she had talked to PureBlueSky, then she must also know _why_ she had been talking to him. And knowing that, Briar should also know why she had followed Quickstep out to meet the Meadow Sisters in the first place. So, what did Briar want with her? Maple had come for help, but Briar didn't even mention the possibility of giving it to her.

Maple had a sinking feeling that this visit was going to be a waste of time.

Still…the Meadow Sisters acted a bit strangely, but they were also kind. They didn't mean her any harm, they just wanted to talk. And in every direction Maple looked there were flowers everywhere. They looked and smelled wonderful. It couldn't hurt to stay here for just a little while…

As she knelt down, she realized that Quickstep was no longer with her.

Maple's escort remained where he was as he watched Maple be overrun by the Meadow Sisters. It was a little sad, but bringing her here was still better than chasing after RiverofTears herself.

According to Astral, Rachel had moved on and was doing her utmost to forget that the Four ever existed. She was only calling herself RiverofTears and dying her hair to please Silph and, most of all, Teardrop. Three years was enough for her to begin hating the mask that Sky and Edge had asked her to wear.

Speaking of Astral, Quickstep had his own reasons for visiting the meadow. He need only take a closer look at his surroundings to spot the human Bronzong meditating on top of a nearby hill, overlooking the flowers. Quickstep strode over to meet him.

Like any other genderless Pokémon, Astral had turned into neither a man nor a woman upon evolving into a human. Quickstep only referred to Astral as "he" because most of his traits, like his voice and his build, were largely masculine. However, to say that Astral was a "he" was fundamentally incorrect.

"Quickstep," Astral greeted without rising or opening his eyes. The human Bronzong was dressed in a full length robe colored a strange blue-grey. Two large, red circles ran the length of the robe from mid-thigh to mid-calf and a steel grey sash was wrapped around the waist. An elaborate arched head-piece, that Quickstep had never seen Astral take off, stretched over his head. A blue-grey staff with small bells hanging off the end of it lay in the grass in front of him.

"Hey, Astral," Quickstep sat down next to him, extending his long legs and folding his sleeves across his lap. Astral did not stir from his meditations. "So, what's the latest?"

"You only came to press me for information?" Astral opened one ruby-red eye to look at him.

"It's no worse than what the sisters do to you," Quickstep shrugged. By that time, Maple was talking to Briar. No doubt the Roserade-woman would tell her nothing while probing the poor girl for information that Briar already had. The Meadow Sisters were useless without RiverofTears's command.

"Very well, then," Astral sighed. He hated having his psychic abilities exploited strictly for gossip, but he still could not penetrate through the screaming horrors that covered the southeastern side of the city. "Aurum has learned of River's engagement."

"Really? How'd he take it?"

"How would you react if your granddaughter never told you that she was getting married?"

"Fair enough," Quickstep nodded, "anything else?"

"Little of any value."

"Does that include the little Leafeon and her friends?"

Astral opened both eyes this time and stared stoically at the human Mienshao. "The girl is five years younger than yourself and still a teenager. Pursue someone else."

"Hey, you should know that I'd never _act_ on those thoughts, asshole," Quickstep attempted to defend himself against someone that could read his thoughts, "look, just humor me."

"Thankfully, the girl does not have any interest in you," Astral turned away and closed his eyes again, "her trainer is never very far from her thoughts."

"Really?" Quickstep asked, "Where is he then?"

"On the opposite side of-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Quickstep interrupted, "it was a rhetorical question," but his curiosity got the better of him, "what about the trainer?"

"His thoughts are usually elsewhere," Astral reminded him, "as we've heard, he's much like Sky. He burdens himself with worry and often forgets about those closest to him."

"So he doesn't love her?"

"I read _minds_, Quickstep," Astral dismissed the question, "not souls."

"So he does love her?"

"I repeat. I-"

"Fine," Quickstep waved him off, "what do you _think_, then?"

"They're still young," Astral said with knowing confidence, "anything is possible. And, as I said, I don't read souls."

"Man, psychic powers are useless," Quickstep smirked, "can't even tell if two people love each other."

"Love is-"

"A very complex emotion," Quickstep finished for him, "I know, I know," he paused to think for a few moments, "Anyways, you think she can convince these catty little weirdos?"

"You were better off with PureBlueSky," Astral said plainly, "the Meadow Sisters only want to take a look at the newest piece of gossip before turning her back around and sending her on her way."

"Not exactly what I was hoping to hear," Quickstep sighed, "what about Edge? You know, the guy you're supposed to hanging out with instead of the gossip triplets?"

"Since you had to ask, you clearly don't know him very well," Astral said calmly, "Edge is brave to the point of recklessness. Point him at an enemy and he'll kept fighting until nothing's left."

"Sounds like a good way to get himself killed," Quickstep added.

"For his sake, don't go to him," Astral sighed heavily, "we still don't know who these people are. Give Sky time to find his courage. He is our leader, even if he doesn't realize it yet."

"You sound like you believe in him more than your own trainer," Quickstep scoffed.

"We all know you hate him, Quickstep," Astral regained his stoic composure, "but you still respect him."

"I thought you said you couldn't read souls," Quickstep sprang to his feet. He didn't feel like talking to Astral anymore.

AN: so…the real question is: is it okay to wear a real fur coat if it used to be your fur? Or is it still bad taste?

Oh, and if you think Surf is awesome now, you should wait until Teardrop uses it in battle.

And, oh, yeah…sorry to anybody who wanted me to do Disney nicknames for RiverofTears's team. I wasn't feeling a whole lot of love over that idea. And to be perfectly honest, it would've looked kinda weird alongside everybody else's nicknames. It just wasn't meant to be, really.

Anyway, I had another one of those weekends where I didn't have enough time to finish. They tend to suck. I hate missing posts. That, and I felt REALLY bad about leaving the story at a depressing point for so long, so, here's this one mid-week.

I think that's it. I hope everybody's enjoying the holiday season. I shall see you again on Sunday with another chapter.

Thanks for reading!


	72. The Half-Breeds and the Sleeping Power

Chapter 70

Several miles north of the flower meadow, a Bidoof was sniffing through the underbrush in search of a branch thick enough to gnaw on. It passed over several twigs that were much too tiny, its small nose twitching as it went.

He could tell it was going to rain soon. His nose always itched when it was about to rain. The sky was dark that day, but the rain wouldn't come until the next night. There would be plenty of time to return home with his brothers and sisters to wait out the storm. Until then, he needed to find a branch that would tide him over until the rain ended.

The strange storm three nights ago had caught him unawares. There had been no signs to show that it was coming. His nose hadn't even itched. Everything in the forest had gone into a frenzy when it started. Wurmple, Rattata and Bidoof alike had scattered in all directions looking for shelter. But the storm had finished only minutes after it began.

Some were saying that Kyogre itself had risen from the bottom of the sea to take a deep breath for the first time in centuries, before diving back into the depths. Others claimed that it was merely a side-effect of a human battle, exploiting the rituals and techniques that Pokémon used to keep nature in balance. Still others said that the north wind, Suicune, had brought the rain to play a joke on the forest's inhabitants. Initially, Suicune was silent on the matter, but, to protect its own reputation, it had asked several of its accusers if they believed that Suicune was truly a trickster at heart. None of them did.

But this particular Bidoof did not know which to believe, nor really care what the truth was. He simply needed to find something to chew and no amount of speculation was helping him.

Now, he had to admit that there were strange powers sleeping on this island. Though he had lived in these woods his entire life, visiting Wingull often commented about the strange energy that flowed around the island. It was hard to ignore their superstitions. Especially when they told tales of faraway places that he would never see.

The forest itself was a sign of the strange magic around the island. Sometimes he would leave a delectable piece of branch somewhere carefully hidden and return later to find that not only had the branch been moved, but the hole he had buried it in was gone too. Several times before, he had strayed too close to the mountain and upon rushing home; his mother had scolded him for being gone for as long as three days.

Of course, all of these things felt ordinary compared with the energy coming out of the core of the mountain. On one trip, in particular, he had decided to find out for himself what the cause of the time skipping was and he began to climb straight up the mountainside. Unfortunately, he had only gotten halfway there when two bad-tempered Geodude had forced him to turn around. Still…as he climbed that mountain all of his hairs stood on end and he could sense the power sleeping deep underground.

That was the closest any Bidoof had ever come to finding out what was inside that mountain. There had to be others inside that knew, but the Geodude weren't sharing. Whatever it was, though, it was strong. Even stronger than Suicune.

But what was truly strange about that power wasn't its source or its size. Because this particular Bidoof had also seen several of those strange half-breeds walking through the woods. They weren't quite like him and they weren't quite human, but all of them had a little bit of that mysterious power inside of them.

For an island that had humans living so close by, few of them ever came inside the forest. All but the most recent ones, the inhabitants knew on sight. Though it was mostly the old man, whom the fish enjoyed teasing. But even he hadn't been in the forest for almost three years. All of the humans that came into the forest had those strange half-breeds with them.

The Bidoof didn't have any strong feelings one way or another about them. Generally, he just avoided them and they left him alone. Others, in the forest, hated them and cursed their very existence.

One time, he had asked his mother what they were and she told him a story about a foolish Bidoof who asked the wish-maker, Jirachi, to turn him human. Jirachi did as he asked, but he couldn't fully transform him into a human. He still had his large teeth and fluffy ears and even his hands and feet were webbed like a real Bidoof. When the humans saw this strange creature, they swarmed the abomination and killed him.

After the horrible tale was over, he asked his mother why they still saw the half-breeds if all the humans wanted to do was kill them. His mother told him that they came into the woods because in the human world, they were forced to disguise themselves or they would be killed by the humans. The forest was the only sanctuary they had.

But even that didn't make sense. If the forest was a sanctuary and all the humans killed them on sight, then why did everyone in the forest hate them so much? Shouldn't they try to protect them?

To that, his mother told him that it was not their duty to protect those that had cursed themselves. Those half-breeds were only a little bit luckier than the Bidoof from the story. It was their selfish wish that had doomed them. To turn their backs on those like them and transform into a human was an appalling and horrible thing to want.

Still, he didn't know what to think about them. And, like the power inside the forest and the mountain, they had been there his entire life. Besides, all he really needed was a nice, thick branch to chew on. Then he could just-

Suddenly, his hair stood on end.

He jolted to a stop, but that was a mistake. He could sense one of those half-breeds right behind him. He wanted to run, but his legs were frozen from fear.

Suddenly, something grabbed his back leg and lifted him off of the ground. He wiggled and scrambled, trying to get loose, but the grip on his back leg was too tight. He was lifted almost a full five feet, straight up into the air. Still panicking, he squeaked in fright as his captor spun him around to get a good look at him.

The girl had bright red hair and emerald-green eyes. The flaming tip of her tail shone just outside of his field of vision. It was another half-breed.

Without thinking, he bristled his fur and began to gnash his teeth at the girl. But she paid no mind. This was not the first time a Bidoof had acted this way towards her.

"Thirty-three," the girl sighed. With that, her mouth opened wide, revealing a set of teeth that were slightly more pointed than most humans. Her canines were especially sharp and as he watched, small flames sprouted around them, filling her mouth with fire.

The Bidoof switched back from hostility to sheer panic, squeaking and trying to flee from the half-breed girl. Then her searing-hot teeth sank into him as she bit him. The pain was intense, but it only lasted a moment before he passed out.

* * *

><p>"This is <em>boring<em>!" Cherry whined, tossing aside the unconscious Bidoof. It landed with a thud a short distance away. After a few more moments, the Bidoof blinked his eyes open, shook his head and dashed away into the underbrush.

"Cherry, calm down," Mark sighed, "I know this isn't what you had in mind, but we still need to do it."

"I know, I know," the little girl groaned, "I'm just saying that at least the Aipom were a _challenge_! This is just…_lame_."

Mark didn't really have any other way to console her. The problem was; he agreed with her. Cherry hadn't been hurt even once since they began. Most of the time, she didn't even need any instruction from Mark. Bidoof were simply weak, ordinary, common Pokémon that most trainers only bothered with when they had to. And now they had to.

"Well, look at the bright side," Mark began, trying to convince himself just as much as Cherry, "you've caught thirty-three and we've only been out here for two hours. Another hour and we're done."

"We'd better be…" Cherry muttered, "'cause this is seriously-OW! Owowowow!" Cherry clutched her head and sank to her knees. Recognizing the symptoms, Mark rushed over and knelt down with her.

"It's alright, it's alright," he tried his best to sound calm as he consoled her, "I'm here. Now, what is it?"

Without answering, Cherry began to shoo him away. A half-sick look appeared on her face as though she were about to vomit. Mark just managed to scramble off to the side before she spat out a cylindrical ball of flame that shot forward about fifteen yards before exploding into small cinders in every direction. The tiny flames it created dissipated in the air, just before they might catch the surrounding woodlands on fire.

"Flame Burst," Mark observed, calm, though wide-eyed in amazement. He turned back to Cherry who still clutched her head in obvious pain. "Alright, you can forget about Ember, now."

Cherry didn't ask for confirmation and her horrifying headache finally subsided. She breathed in and out a few times, steadying herself before standing up once more. Fire Fang, Smokescreen, Dragon Dance and now Flame Burst. Their progress had slowed, but Mark was immensely grateful for everything she had learned thus far. They would need it.

"Alright," Mark also got to his feet, "now we're getting somewhere. Flame Burst might not be as strong as Flamethrower, but it's way better than Ember. That'll be our best bet against Shinobi."

"Shinobi…right…" Cherry panted a little, recovering from learning her newest attack, "is it always like this?"

"What is?" Mark asked.

"Learning new attacks…" Cherry said, "Does it always hurt like that?"

Mark hesitated before answering. He couldn't lie to her, but he didn't understand it any more than she did.

"No," he said, "not for normal Pokémon, anyway."

"Is it because I'm human, then?" she tried to sound braver than what she felt.

"I think so," Mark told her, "humans don't learn anything like this. I think it's just too much for your head."

"Okay…" she nodded, "how many more times do I have to do this, then?"

Again, Mark hesitated. He didn't know the answer, but it would be a simple task to look it up in his Pokedex. Everything was right there, waiting for him. All of the data that trainers and scientists alike had gathered about Pokémon after generations of battling. But knowing the number wouldn't comfort her. It would only fill her with dread and make her hate training.

"Never mind," Cherry groaned, though Mark was admittedly relieved, "I don't want to know."

Mark had to feel sorry for her. Being a Pokémon was not easy. Being human was not easy. And being both was worse than either of them. This girl's life seemed to be nothing but pain. She might not even be able to fulfill her dream of flying. She could be stuck as a Charmander for the rest of her life and never evolve into a Charizard, the way she dreamed. He owed it to her to tell her, but when?

"Hey," Mark called to her, "it's almost noon. Why don't we take a break?"

"Do we have to?" she asked, unexpectedly, "I don't want to fight these things, but if it's only going to be another hour, then let's just get it over with."

"Alright," Mark agreed, "if we head more towards the river, we should find some more of them."

"Okay," Cherry agreed.

As they made their way forward, she stayed about twenty yards ahead of Mark. Most of the time, Mark didn't even see her catch a Bidoof. She simply called out the new count and kept going. The little things didn't stand a chance against her.

With nothing better to do, Mark decided it was time to check on Lily and Eric. So far, he hadn't heard a word from either of them. Before, he thought he could dismiss it, but now too much time had gone by. Something was wrong.

He started with Lily.

The phone rang so long that Mark was beginning to wonder if Palkia's Woods was interfering with the call. But, finally, the call went to voice-mail and Lily's chipper voice answered.

"Hello! You've reached Lily Riddell! Sorry I can't answer, right now. I'll get back to you as soon as I can." There was a short pause before she finished, "and, if this is Mom. I'm okay. And yes, I'm eating well." A short tone sounded as Cherry shouted out "_thirty-four_!"

"Hey, Lily, it's…uhh…Mark," he hated phones, "I…uhh, was just wondering if everything's okay. I didn't see you this morning. So…just checking in. Okay, bye." He ended the call and began searching through the list for Eric's number.

"Thirty-five!" Cherry called out.

Before he could find Eric's number, his phone buzzed once, telling him he had received a text message. It read:

We are fine. There is no cause for worry. Please continue without us.

Mark raised an eyebrow at the strange wording. Lily didn't type those words. It sounded more like Shinobi. Everything the ninja said was proper and polite and this was no different. So why was Shinobi texting him instead of Lily? And why did neither of them answer when he called?

In any case, they were safe. That was all he really needed.

"Thirty-six!" Cherry called again, "no, wait, thirty-seven!"

Next was Eric. This time it was Tsunami's gruff voice that answered.

"Good morning," he answered, "soon to be afternoon, actually."

"Uhh…morning," Mark greeted, "is everything okay? You weren't around this morning…"

"Ah, yes," Tsunami feigned ignorance, "sorry about that. We should be there shortly. And we have some new information you might like to hear."

"What's that?"

"Nothing too serious," Tsunami said, "just a few new recruits for our little war against Team Deus."

"Really?!" Mark exclaimed, "Well, alright. Awesome. We'll see you soon, then."

"Later," Tsunami hung up.

"_Forty_!" Cherry screamed again.

It was a wonder they weren't just surrendering to her…

* * *

><p>AN: not a whole lot going on in this chapter, really. Just checking in on Cherry's progress and bringing things together. Day Six is lasting a very long time.<p>

Well, once again I must apologize for being late. I'm also late on responding to PMs and reviews and such. Thankfully, though, I have some extra time off between now and New Year's. so, I should be able to get back on schedule and respond to everybody very soon.

So, if I don't see you, have a great New Year's and thanks very much for reading!


	73. 769

Chapter 71

"Look at them, Cal," Farin swelled with pride, "aren't they glorious? Aren't they wonderful? Aren't they everything you've ever dreamed of?"

Cal looked up and down the agents gathered before them. He knew all of them. He had eaten with them, joked with them and fought with them. They were the men and women of the Himitsu Island outpost.

Standing in front of him were twelve agents, each with six violent and obedient human Pokémon of their very own. They commanded a total of seventy-two of those deadly, half-transformed brutes that Farin favored over the real thing. Right in front of them, sealed within their Pokéballs, was a force that totaled nearly three-quarters of all of the human Pokémon participating in the tournament and one-third of every human Pokémon on the entire island.

"You seem unconvinced," Farin looked at Cal.

The cautious hunter felt like the only one in the room that was not proud to be there. Seventy-two was an impressive count, but Cal still did not believe in these creatures. He did not trust them and they had done nothing to change his mind.

Farin supposedly commanded the strongest of them, but when he went up against a ten-year-old boy in single combat the boy had easily stood toe-to-toe with him. Given a bit more luck, the boy would have had a chance to come out on top. That boy had been an amateur and should have been little more than a speed bump. These creatures were not ready to face PureBlueSky or any other member of the Four.

No, this was not right. Farin believed he had an army that could swarm the island, but he was wrong.

Farin was a madman. He was drunk off the lies that some pathetic researcher had told him to save himself from the rabid things in the basement. Hold death over somebody and they'll tell you anything. Cal had never seen this power that Farin claimed to wield.

"It's nothing," Cal shook his head. He had not feared Farin before, but in the face of his army it would be best to keep his head down. He was alone down here, as well. Fate, Whisper and Lionel were still waiting for a chance to attack the Meganium-woman up on the surface. All he had to defend himself was Maraca, his human Ludicolo, the fat, useless bastard. If there was ever a human Pokémon that Cal wanted to change into one of Farin's brutes, it was Maraca. But it was too late for that and he was stuck with the dead weight.

"Come now, Cal," Farin taunted, "I know that's not what you really think. These men and women are going to take over the island. Show a little more enthusiasm."

"Seems to me like you have everything you need right here," Cal shrugged, deciding to take up Farin's challenge, against his better judgment, "so, why are you lining them all up? Do you just like looking at them?"

"Why, my friend?" Farin tittered, "because much like yourself, several of these fine recruits remain unconvinced that we have the forces to conquer Himitsu Island. And, dare I say, there are those that think it unnecessary."

Insubordination amongst the grunts; Cal barely managed to keep the stoic expression on his face, it was so laughable.

But, undoubtedly, these grunts felt the same as Cal. They had been told that Team Deus was to remain secret. Even having select members participate in the tournament was a bold move for them. Everything Farin was doing was in direct contrast to their orders and their code. Perhaps they were beginning to suspect what Cal already knew.

That's what this gathering was. Farin was trying to change the face of the organization. If he wanted an army, he needed them to be unquestioningly loyal. They needed to accept his orders and carry them out as if God himself had given them. These men and women had been taught to be thieves. Farin was turning them into soldiers.

"Now, then," the man in the grape suit turned to his army, "today, we are going to conduct a tournament of our very own. You will fight each other with the creatures you have been assigned until a champion has been decided. Be sure to fight well, a command position could be in your very near future. Dismissed."

The grunts were left on their own to organize the tournament. However, it did not take long for them to pair off and spread around the vacant, auditorium-sized cafeteria where Farin had gathered them.

Farin continued to watch them, intent on watching their battles and training his soldiers.

"Your own army," Cal mused.

"_Our_ army," Farin corrected him, "I haven't turned my back on Team Deus, as you seem convinced I have."

"I know the higher-ups too well," Cal admitted, "they don't want this. What are you thinking?"

"Cal, what do you suppose will happen when we attack the tournament?" Farin asked him.

Cal did not expect Farin to ask such a bold question, but he had an answer ready.

"That we'll lose, expose the organization, and be wiped out by their most powerful trainers when we should have stayed hidden and waited until the forced transformations had been perfected," Cal had repeated the scenario in his head time and time again. It was always the same. They could produce any number of loyal monsters, but the power of each one did not match true human Pokémon. Team Deus needed that power or there would be no victory.

"Always the pessimist," Farin grinned as he shook his head, "no, my dear boy, that is not what will happen. You said yourself that these trainers are disorganized and lack any true leader. That makes them weak and vulnerable. Now is the time to strike. Now is the time to fill them with fear and bend them to Team Deus. And win or lose, our own forces will be compelled to join the war with absolute commitment. We will crush them long before they even realize the extent of our reach. Our hands are around their throats, Cal. We only need to tighten our grip."

Cal stood silent for a few moments.

Farin was insane. Worse, he believed every word of it. He would die following this path and take down everyone he could hold on to while he did.

But Cal wouldn't be one of them. He wouldn't follow this madman's war. He needed to get off this island. He needed to eliminate the Meganium-girl as quickly as possible and vanish along with Whisper and the boy. Cal would survive only if he escaped this lunatic.

"By the way, Cal," Farin said, "it's come to my attention that you're hiding a few…shall we say, persons of interest, from me. The boy and…a Zoroark, I'm told?"

"What about them?" Cal needed to tread carefully.

"Oh, nothing much," Farin chuckled, "I'd just hate to think that you're building up an army of your own without telling me."

"They're only useless throwaways," Cal tried to downplay his newest subordinates, "nothing important."

"Is that so?" Farin was plainly unconvinced, "well, don't keep them locked away for too long. A growing army needs soldiers. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I suppose it does," Cal turned to leave, "I'll see if I can locate them for you."

"Hurry back," Farin chuckled once more.

_Dammit, dammit_, Cal cursed as he stormed through the halls of the base. Farin would not be persuaded, it was too late for that.

But was it too late to stop him? Farin's forces still didn't trust him. Maybe if Cal reminded them that they were thieves, not soldiers, he could convince them to disobey their orders. Farin's orders were not what Team Deus truly wanted. Surely they could sense that. Without his army, Farin could not launch his attack.

And where did all of those human Pokémon come from? Farin's army had been assembled from nothing. Cal didn't even know there were that many in the base. Could Farin have convinced headquarters to send him more of the half-transformed brutes? If he was doing something so drastic, it wouldn't be long before they found out what he was doing.

That was it, then. Farin was a dead man.

How long would he have? A week? Maybe as little as a few days. Team Deus would not forgive him for any slight. Not even one as small as smuggling in a few extra tools. Imagine what they would do if they knew about his little rebellion.

One phone call. Just one phone call and Cal could destroy the man. He could sound the alarm against him and Farin would disappear from his office one day, his rebellion easily forgotten.

But, no, that wouldn't work either. That way was too formal, too by-the-book. There would be an investigation first and Farin would launch his attack long before anything was accomplished.

How long did Cal have, then? Farin clearly planned to interrupt the tournament, which would be over in less than two weeks. But he wouldn't have that much time. His order for more human Pokémon would have raised a lot of red flags right when he did it. Time was no longer on his side.

It could only be a few days, no more. Cal would give him three days, at most. Then, ready or not, Farin would unleash his army on Himitsu Island and officially start the war between Team Deus and the tiny community of human Pokémon trainers.

Cal would only have one chance to set things right and keep Team Deus hidden in the shadows. If he could convince those grunts that Farin was crazy and they were going to lose, then the attack would fall apart. There would be no war if there was no army.

With only a few days to work with, there would be no time to talk to the grunts himself. He needed a grand gesture. Something impressive to make them fall in line.

He needed to defeat Farin himself.

"Hey! There you are!" Cal jolted out of his plans to see Lionel, the little blond brat, running down the hall to meet him, "I have another update from Fate! She says that-"

"Come with me," Cal strode straight past him, "you're weak and I need you to be stronger."

"Huh?" Lionel turned to follow after him, "w-what did you say?"

"I said that you're weak," Cal growled at him. He did not need this. There was no time to babysit. There was only one way he could prepare this fool for what he was about to do. He only hoped Farin hadn't thought of it first.

* * *

><p>The cell was dark, but he deserved it. The cell was cold, and he deserved that too. He only remembered the collar around his neck when he looked at himself in the mirror, but it belonged there. Even the constant screams coming through the other side of the door were well deserved.<p>

There were few punishments that Tesla, the human Galvantula, did not feel that he deserved. This cell had been all he had known for over two years now. More than half of his life had been spent in this cell. He looked like he was twenty-three, but that was something that his captors had told him.

Behind him, there were a total of seven-hundred and sixty-nine marks on the wall, over his cot. Each one was a painstaking chore to cut, but even that was fitting, for him.

His clothes were soiled and ripped, but they still reflected what he was. His jacket had once been a bright yellow, but it was so faded, it looked almost cream. The inside had been a vibrant, dark blue, now faded to a sad blue-green. His yellow pants were similarly battered and faded. His black hair, grown long from his time in the cell, was covered in dirt and grime. Had he been capable of growing a beard, it likely would've been down to his chest.

But what terrified his captors were the four solid-blue insect eyes he had and the two extra spider-like limbs that hung lifeless against his side. Most human Pokémon evolved with only a set of ears and a tail to mark them for what they were. The human Galvantula was nowhere near as lucky.

His company in the basement was screaming especially loudly today. He couldn't say why, but there were days that they would just keep screaming louder and louder. If he could understand their cries, he suspected they would be shouting "kill me." And yet, they always ate their food and lapsed back into silence whenever one of the keepers opened the door with a cattle prod in hand.

Maybe "kill me" was too strong. Too gruesome. After all, even with all of his regrets and the punishments he had earned, Tesla still did not want to die. He ate his food, he exercised and practiced his abilities and marked off each day, one by one. He wasn't ready to die.

He didn't understand that. Was living really that important? His life served no purpose in that horrible cell and nothing waited for him outside of it. Seven-hundred sixty-nine days of the same four walls and the screaming horrors on the other side.

He should've gone insane. He probably was insane. The only way he knew seven-hundred and sixty-nine days had passed was because that was the number of times somebody had come to bring food down to the lower cells. It only happened once a day and it was the only moment of peace he had. The screams only stopped for a few minutes while the horrors gorged themselves, but it was the only time of the day Tesla could hear himself think.

But, when they were screaming, which was constant, it reminded him of Rob. And how he never even had the chance to scream.

Rob was eighteen when Tesla had evolved into a human Pokémon. Rob, with his lip ring and spiky hair, had taken one look at Tesla's useless, lifeless arms and quadruple eyes and said his favorite word: "Bitchin'." The boy did not give anyone the impression that he would make a good Pokémon trainer, but Tesla could not imagine anyone accepting his deformities as quickly as he had.

He would have been a good partner, had he survived beyond the second day.

It was an accident. Tesla told himself that over and over and over, but it never made any difference. His old instincts had still been with him. In his head, he was still a Pokémon. As far as he knew, everything should work just like before.

It was the same instinct from life as a Galvantula that told him electricity was harmless. Not just harmless, but food. He could feed off of it, suck it in and power his own body with its energy.

To put it into practice, he went straight for Rob's stereo system. He was pulling cords apart and testing the right distance he needed to make an arc when Rob came up behind him.

"Whoa! Hey man, what the hell're you-" He reached for Tesla's shoulder and tried to pull him away. Startled and angry by the aggressive action, Tesla shot a jolt of electricity at him. It wasn't even an attack, nowhere near as powerful as what he used against other Pokémon.

But even that small jolt was enough.

Rob was shot backward, landing flat on his back a short distance away. Tesla turned away from the stereo to see his trainer shaking violently. Then he stopped.

That was all it took. Just one, quick shock had given Rob a heart attack and he was gone. If Tesla was anything but a Pokémon, he could have saved him. He could have called an ambulance, gotten him help. He didn't have to die. Not like that.

What could he do but run? Two days later he had a human mind and it was racked with guilt over what had happened. He ran and tried to live on his own, but he wasn't going to get anywhere. His eyes and his useless, dead limbs gave him away for what he was. It was inevitable that they would catch him.

Seven-hundred and sixty-nine days. He deserved every one of them.

* * *

><p>The screams of the horrors fell silent as the door creaked open. Tesla sat up, confused by the interruption. It was still early. This was not a feeding time.<p>

He could hear footsteps coming towards his cell. It was hard to tell how many, but there was more than one of them. A set of keys jangled for a moment before the door was opened wide.

Standing in the entrance was a tall, cruel-eyed man and a boy that was even younger than what Rob had been. The boy was plainly frightened, his blue eyes growing wider as he looked at Tesla's deformities. Who was this boy? He couldn't be with these people, could he?

It was the tall man who spoke next.

"He says his name is Tesla," he said, "he killed two agents when he was captured and has been unruly ever since. Even still, he's probably one of the toughest we've ever found. The collar isn't very effective for electric-types, so you're going to have to rely on some other method to get him to follow you."

"What are you talking about? What are you doing?" the boy stammered.

"Lionel," the man took a deep breath, "I already told you, you're weak. And you need to be stronger. The only way for that to happen is for you to start listening to me. Got it?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded, "I got it."

"Good. In that case, meet your new partner. Try not to let him kill you."

* * *

><p>AN: that's more like it for chapter content. Crazy villain plots and a new character. I like it.<p>

And, I'm back! Sorry for my prolonged absence. I started playing Skyrim and then suddenly two weeks were gone. Good news is that I think I'm getting bored with the game, now. It felt good to take a vacation to Skyrim. But, now that I'm over my brief addiction, I'll get back to a regular posting schedule.

And I must also say that I'm still working on responding to the recent flood of awesome reviews (I love you guys). I'll try to respond to as many as possible tonight, but I'm usually really terrible at this. So, I apologize in advance if I forget about you.

Even I don't always respond, I ALWAYS read every review I receive and they are always appreciated.

So, here's hoping I'll see you next weekend without a hitch and thanks for reading!


	74. Day of Disappointments

Chapter 72

Since coming to Himitsu Island, Mark had met an interesting variety of trainers and their human Pokémon. They were all very different from each other and had their own unique approach to life with human Pokémon. However, even before he met Cara, he had begun to notice a trend amongst the trainers.

In most cases, despite the fact that human Pokémon were more intelligent and independent than normal Pokémon, it was still the trainer who led the group. The true human of each party was the one who shouldered all of the responsibility and looked after the human Pokémon. It was hard to say exactly why, though. All of the human Pokémon were inherently very young and had only been human for a short time. Perhaps it was the trainer's experience and greater knowledge of the human world that drove them to lead. Or maybe it was simply that being the trainer implied that one should step up and take charge.

Whatever the case, a trainer's role didn't become less important with human Pokémon. In fact, it became more important.

On the other hand, Mark's new theory wasn't a rule that every group followed. Lily and Eric both seemed to share responsibilities with their human Pokémon. Tsunami and Fernelia often tried to lead Eric the way his real parents might do and Silver had taken over Lily's group when Aroma had been kidnapped.

Maybe it wasn't always true, but Mark had never met a group that followed that theory as closely as Cara and her group of four human Pokémon.

At least, he thought there were four.

"It looks like there's three of them, but they're basically just one person," Cara had joked when she introduced the three Dugtrio triplets, "seriously, they all think alike. If they weren't all different heights it'd be impossible to tell them apart."

The one, or three, Dugtrio had a very bizarre tendency to walk in a tight formation. The shortest, Mano, led the three with the tallest, Trine, in the back and Duon in the middle. Their footsteps overlapped so closely they seemed doomed to trip over each other. Yet the three were just fine.

"We share a Pokéball, too," Mano said with a smirk.

"It can get pretty cramped in there," Duon continued.

"But we're used to it," Trine finished.

If Mark didn't know any better, he would've sworn that was rehearsed. It was also a little unsettling that they all spoke with the same voice. Bizarre.

The three remaining human Pokémon were much more normal to look at, but their demeanors and personalities were something else altogether. Ebony, the Honchkrow-woman, frequently yawned and rubbed her eyes as she complained that noon was too early in the day. Sparks, the human Luxray, was so surly and downtrodden he made Volt seem downright chipper by comparison. The closest one to normal was the human Jynx, Serenade, who stood tall, straight and beautiful with an aura of elegance surrounding her. She had a rather irritating tendency to say "honey" far too often.

Just a short time ago, Cherry had finished her Bidoof training. Though Aurum had grumbled about it, like always, he conceded that their training was finished for the day. That left them free to meet up with Eric and Cara in the Himitsu Island square. Fitting all of them at a café table seemed like it would be a challenge, but Cara proved to be well practiced at the task.

"You again?" a waiter recognized Cara, "you're not going to start any trouble, are you?"

"No, we'll behave," she shook her head, "besides, we paid for the damages, didn't we?

"Yes, you did," the waiter conceded her point, "but I still think that battles should be outlawed in the square. They just finished repairing the street from this morning. It's hard to have a quiet meal with trainers battling constantly."

The waiter obviously wasn't a trainer himself, but he took their orders and left without further complaint.

"Somebody's tip just got lowered," Cara smirked when the waiter was no longer in earshot.

"What an asshole," Sparks grumbled.

"What was he talking about?" Mark had to ask.

"Oh, it's nothing," Cara assured him, "we just destroyed a table the last time we were here."

"You what?"

"Awesome!" Cherry grinned.

"Hey, it was that freaking ghost-girl that started it!" Sparks exclaimed, though no one accused him of anything, "The bitch kicked me when I wasn't looking! You expect me to take that crap?!"

"Sparks, honey," Serenade shook her head, "you take '_crap_' like that all the time."

"She has a point, Sparks," Ebony added, "it's tough _not_ to use you as a punching bag."

"Bitch!" Sparks shot to his feet.

"HEY!" Cara screamed down the table, "I don't give a damn what happened, anymore! Start another fight and they'll ban us from the place!"

As soon as she was finished, the three human Pokémon stopped bickering and sat in uncomfortable silence. Cara, however, acted as though screaming at her human Pokémon were an everyday occurrence. She turned back to Mark as though nothing had happened.

"Sorry," she shrugged, "this was the best I could get on short notice. They're weird, but they're good when they apply themselves."

"Uh…" Mark stammered, "no, this is…great, really. Don't worry about it."

Cara had more human Pokémon than Mark and Eric combined. Kim had told him that a human Pokémon trainer was often measured by the number of human Pokémon he or she commanded. If that was true, then Cara was the second strongest trainer Mark had met so far, falling short of only Aurum. Even if he had Maple with him, Mark doubted that he and Eric could match Cara's strength. And there was no telling how strong each of her human Pokémon was without a battle.

If they could work together, Cara really would be a powerful ally.

"So…how old are you?" Cara had to ask. Eric hadn't told her much about his friends and, at the time, she had told herself that she'd take whatever she could get. Still, she wasn't looking at the great leader she had been somewhat hoping for.

With Alex out of commission, she needed something to lift her spirits. She still had no clue what she was getting into. She needed to know more before she got involved at all.

"Sixteen," Mark answered. He did not return the question. Cara was clearly older than him by at least six or seven years. She probably just figured he was a kid and not really trustworthy. The realization made him angry, but he did his best to control it. To top it off, his sudden anger further emphasized his young age. And that made him feel even worse.

"So, what did Eric tell you about what we found?" Mark tried to hurry things along. Maybe if they could focus on their goals, things like age might not matter as much.

"Everything, I think," Eric shrugged in his seat next to Mark, "the kidnappings, the rescue…what else is there?"

"Okay…" Mark nodded. He was having trouble deciding what to do. Before, it had been Silver who had taken the lead. But Mark hadn't spoken to Lily's human Absol since that very same rescue mission. Silver's own plan had been to go about their lives and stay well away from Team Deus.

Could they really do that? Mark hadn't heard of anything else happening with Team Deus. Could it all be over?

"You said they have some kind of lab, right?" Cara prompted.

"Yeah," Mark nodded.

"Any idea what they make?"

"No…" Mark shook his head.

"They force Pokémon to evolve into humans," Cherry spoke up, "it doesn't work, though," she took a deep breath before rushing to finish, "the bad ones are in the basement."

"Say again?" Cara asked the little Charmander-girl, "I couldn't hear you."

"THE BAD ONES ARE IN THE BASEMENT!" Cherry screamed at her. She suddenly flung herself at Mark, clutching onto his shirt and shaking.

Completely aghast at her outburst, Mark put a hand on the girl's shoulder and hugged her against him.

The entire table, and some of the others, turned to look at the Charmander-girl. After a few moments, the surrounding tables returned to their food and ignored her.

"We found Cherry in a cell inside the base," Mark explained to Cara.

"I'm sorry," Cara apologized, "I didn't know."

"Food's here," Tsunami told the table, breaking the tension.

Once her plate was in front of her, Cherry released Mark's shirt and began devouring her food. She didn't talk again for a long time.

"So, what do we do?" Cara asked the question that nobody knew the answer to, "kick the door down and start killing everybody?"

"It's an option," Sparks pointed out.

"We were hoping to contact one of the Four," Mark explained. Kim's original suggestion still felt like the most plausible. The Four were the authority on the island. It made sense to look for help from them.

"The Four?" Cara tossed her head back and forth, weighing the value of the idea, "what about Alfred Silph? You know, the guy who organized the tournament."

"Could he really help?" this hadn't occurred to Mark. He had assumed that they would need a trainer. Alfred Silph might not be a trainer, but he would have authority.

But, wait…he remembered something Kim had said.

After her match, Kim had told him that she suspected Silph was behind Team Deus. The base's very existence wouldn't be possible without his knowledge. If that was true, then Silph wasn't an option.

"No…never mind," Mark sighed, "Silph is out. We…think he could be helping them."

"Oh…" Cara drew back. That was not good. Silph was a powerful figure even off the island. "Well…if it's as bad as you say down there. Then…all we really need is proof."

"What kind of proof?" Mark asked.

"I don't know," Cara shrugged, "pictures, or something. Maybe some of that 'Forced Evolution' formula. You got in once, shouldn't be too hard to do it again."

"They let us go, last time," Mark was still doubtful, "if we try to take evidence out of there, we won't be so lucky."

"So we're stuck?" Cara asked.

"Guess so…" Mark hated this. If he were more confident, then they could do exactly what Cara suggested and kick the door in. Heroes did that all the time, right? But the real thing was harder, much harder. Team Deus would be expecting someone this time. Farin had wanted to scare them and he had succeeded. They couldn't risk setting one foot inside the place.

"Look, you guys are nice kids," Cara started, "but…what are you really trying to do? I mean, you got in, you got out, and you didn't even really get hurt. You don't have to be heroes. Just…let it go."

Mark looked over at Cherry. She was almost finished with her hamburger, tearing it to shreds with her extra sharp teeth. She was burying herself in it, shutting out the rest of the world and seeking comfort from the meat.

Team Deus had hurt her. And they were doing the same thing to a lot of trainers and human Pokémon. He couldn't forgive something like that. But Cara was right. They were lucky to get away. Defeating Team Deus was something they just couldn't do.

"What about you?" Tsunami suddenly spoke up, "you were practically in tears this morning. Then you talked to us and were ready to go kick some ass. Now you turn right around and tell us to give up? What the hell happened?"

All eyes shifted to Cara at the sudden accusation. Mark hadn't been at the meeting between Cara and Eric. Apparently something important had happened in between then and now.

"He was supposed to come with us…" Cara shrugged.

"Who?" Tsunami pressed, growing angry.

"Alex," the young woman sighed, "he was supposed to come with us. But…no, it's over. I'm done with him."

"Alex?" Mark asked. It could easily be a coincidence, but he had to ask.

"He fought PureBlueSky in the tournament," Cara looked up, "do you know him?"

"I do," Mark nodded, "he and I fought a battle on," it felt so long ago he had to think, "The second day of the tournament. Is he okay?"

"No," Cara said matter-of-factly, "but that's his problem, now."

"Oh…" Mark had no clue what to say to that.

"But there's something else I should probably tell you," Cara continued, "this whole Team Deus thing just keeps getting worse."

"What is it?"

"You know Alex's Zoroark? Whisper?"

"Yeah," Mark nodded, "I remember it." He also remembered Flurry's screams when he covered her in flames.

"Turns out, he's probably teamed up with your Team Deus friends."

"Oh…"

* * *

><p>Maple's eyes were glazed over as she emerged from the flower meadow. She looked down at the small bouquet of flowers she was holding and wondered how she had gotten them. They smelled and looked lovely. She felt numb, as if everything she was sensing was far away and happening to somebody else.<p>

"Managed to grab a souvenir, eh?" a human Mienshao was standing in front of her, grinning from ear to ear.

"Huh?" Maple had to blink a few times before she remembered his name, "Quickstep? What happened?"

"What do you mean 'what happened?'" he asked her, "You just got done talking to the Meadow Sisters."

"Meadow Sisters?" Maple blinked again. Was that what she was doing? But who were the Meadow Sisters? And where was she? Where was Mark? And how did she get those flowers?

"I'm hungry…" she whimpered.

"Yeah, they love company but they're not very good hosts," Quickstep held out a few crackers. Maple reached out to take them. But as she did so, she let go of her flowers. They tumbled to the ground, landing lightly at her feet. She looked forlornly down at them and whimpered again.

"Sweet, Arceus," Quickstep marveled as he bent to pick up Maple's flowers for her, "what the hell did they do to you? It's like they probed your brain or something?"

"What's a probe?" Maple asked as she nibbled on a cracker. Her head was hurting and that didn't make sense either.

"You're probably better off not knowing. Here," Quickstep held out his sleeve holding the flowers, but he pulled back when he realized Maple was about to repeat her earlier mistake. "One hand, please."

Maple had to think about it, but she soon realized what she needed to do. She quietly held onto her flowers with one hand and nibbled on her crackers with the other.

_Why does she have to be so cute_? Quickstep cursed himself as he watched the young Leafeon-girl. It took around another minute for her to reorganize her thoughts. It felt ten times as long to Quickstep.

"How long has it been?" Maple asked.

"About an hour and a half," Quickstep shrugged, "they have a talent for taking a long time to say anything."

"I see…"

"So…" Quickstep knew the answer to his next question, but Maple apparently still needed help to get her mind on track, "did they say they'd help you?"

"Hmm?" at first, Maple appeared to not understand the question, "umm…I guess not. I don't think it came up, though…"

Quickstep frowned at the answer. He had to hand it to the Meadow Sisters; nobody could avoid a direct question quite like they could.

He felt sorry for Maple. The poor thing was just not prepared for this. She had been bred into life under her trainer and had evolved into a human girl just a few weeks ago. She was still young, naïve, and new to the whole human world. Briar, Cashmere and Pixie, however, had years more experience and nothing better to do than chatter away about nothing. It would be like taking an eight-year-old Catholic school-girl and putting her in a college sorority and seeing what happened.

Fortunately, for Maple, Quickstep wasn't the kind of person that would take advantage of her current state of vulnerability. Although…when you put it _that_ way…

"I think…they just asked about other stuff…" Maple stared at the ground as she finished eating her crackers.

"Stuff like what?" Quickstep asked, hoping to get her mind working.

"Well…everything else…" Maple blinked, "like, training with Katana and fighting Tristan and…yeah, everything."

"Ah…" Quickstep nodded knowingly, "you poor thing."

"Huh?" Maple looked up at his comment. Apparently she was more alert than what Quickstep had realized.

"Huh?" Quickstep moved to cover up his statement, "did you say something?"

"Uhh…no…" Maple shook her head and looked around, "what time is it?"

"Almost one o'clock," Quickstep answered.

"Oh! Uhh…I should go," she began to grow more frantic, "Kim…Kim's probably looking for me. We shouldn't have been gone so long."

"She knows you're with me," Quickstep pointed out, "it can't be _that_ bad."

"No…I should go," Maple shook her head, "I promised Mark I'd stay with Kim today."

"Hey, c'mon," Quickstep tried to calm her down, "tell you what. You don't want this whole trip to be for nothing, right?"

"Well, no…" Maple paused, wondering where Quickstep was going with this.

"Then what do you say to a quick training session?"

"Training session?"

"Yeah, like with Katana," Quickstep suggested, "except with me. Just a quick sparring match and I'll take you back. Sound fair?"

"Umm…" Maple thought about it for a long time. "Training" and "match," of course, were special words to her long ears. Fighting Quickstep would be good training. He was one of PureBlueSky's human Pokémon and would be very strong. He was also a fighting-type and would be an even match for her grass-type.

Still…she should get back to Kim…and Mark.

But…Mark would be training Cherry all day. And with Mark gone, Maple would have to follow Kim and Volt and Sprinkle around the beach.

She made up her mind.

"Okay," she answered Quickstep, "I can fight you for a little bit." She gently set her bouquet of flowers on the ground.

* * *

><p>AN: so….it's been what? A month? Yeah….i think that's about right.<p>

Work has once again decided to go insane and I simply did not have the time and energy needed to write for a LONG TIME. What's worse, is that this may in fact continue for the rest of the month.

So, as much as it pains me to say so, I am going to have to return to a schedule of posting "whenever I can." I'll do my damndest to shoot for once a week, but….yeah…

Sorry everybody, but work has to take priority.

I've also fallen even farther behind on responding to reviews, PMs and all of that. I'll do my best to spend whatever free time I get this week catching up, but once again, I can't make any promises.

Here's hoping work calms down reasonably soon.

Thanks for reading!


	75. Alone in Palkia's Woods

Chapter 73

"Shinobi! Shinobi!" Lily squealed with joy at the picture on her laptop, "Look at this baby Torchic! Oh my God, it's so _fuzzy_!" With a few clicks, the picture was quickly downloading into her folder entitled "Cute Pokémon Pics 3." There were over two hundred similar pictures in the folder. Many of them she no longer remembered what they were.

Lily loved the internet. Anything she could possibly want to see or learn about was only a few seconds away. Often, she would lose track of time and find that the past three hours had been lost to watching videos or reading through posts that her friends made. Even though she had grown farther and farther apart from her school friends since she started training Pokémon, she always knew what they were doing, thanks to the internet.

"Shinobi, you're not looking…" Lily whined childishly. However, she did not turn away from the screen to check if he was or not. She decided to save the picture for whenever Shinobi was ready and opened up a new tab so she could keep looking through more pictures. This particular site had been a favorite of hers for years. It was called, simply enough, . It always made her happy.

"Mistress," Shinobi spoke up, "is there nothing else you would like to do today?" It was not really his place to question his trainer, but he meant it with the best of intentions. He had been by her side ever since Silver and Aroma had left that morning. Lily had not left the room since. She had, in fact, turned on her laptop and done nothing else at all. She hadn't even eaten.

"No, I think I'm okay," Lily brushed off his question. "Awwww…" she cooed at the next picture: a Purrloin no bigger than her hand being bottle-fed.

"Mistress," Shinobi tried again, "the battle with Mark is a mere two days away. Are you certain we are prepared?"

"We'll be fine," Lily said off-hand. In order to reassure him, she began searching for a database on Pokémon. It was a few easy clicks to find a profile for Leafeon. "See? Right here," Lily called to Shinobi, "It says that Leafeon are relatively quick physical attackers with a limited move set potential. However, like most grass-types they are very weak to fire and ice. Also, Leafeon does not possess any attacks to counter flying-type Pokémon."

Lily turned away from her laptop to search the room for Shinobi. However, he was crouching right next to her chair. He had been there the entire time. The human Ninjask was so quiet it was sometimes easy to forget that he was even in the room.

"See?" Lily pointed, "You'll be fine. We won't even need Silvy."

"And the Charmander-girl," Shinobi reminded her, "Cherry?"

"Okay, maybe we will get Silvy," Lily sighed, "I'm sure he'll fight. It's no big deal."

"If you insist…" Shinobi conceded.

"Now, c'mon," Lily motioned, "look at the wittle Torchic!" She switched back to the first picture, but Shinobi paid no attention.

Lily stopped to rub at her eyes. She hadn't realized how much they hurt until she had looked away from her laptop. When she closed them, they burned for a little bit longer.

"Mistress, please, it's been too long," Shinobi cautioned her, "you need to take a break."

"I'm fine, Shinobi, it's no big deal," Lily blinked a few times, trying to relieve the pain in her eyes.

She didn't want to stop. Since she had started her journey, it was often rare for her to have this much time to spend on the internet. She often had to go for days on end without it and without her laptop altogether. She charged the battery as often as she could, but even still it only had a few hours. Her mother had suggested that she leave it at home, but Lily would not be parted with it. Even if it was an extra ten pounds to carry, she wouldn't leave it behind.

But here, in the hotel on Himitsu Island, she had plenty of battery power and internet access. Thus, she quickly lapsed back into her old habits of long hours on the internet. It made her feel better and she deserved that.

"Mistress…"

"Shinobi, SHUT UP!" Lily suddenly screamed at her loyal servant, "Leave me alone. If you want to go outside, then go ahead! I want to stay here. Can't you let me do that?" Her voice started to break. Shinobi was afraid his demands had brought Lily to tears, but she composed herself once more. Moments later, her mask was back on.

"Ohhh…sooo cute…" Lily swooned at another picture of a baby Pokémon.

Shinobi was at a loss. There was nothing he could do for his trainer. Her heart had broken when Silver had chosen Aroma over her. He was the only one left that the girl could rely on, but she didn't need or even want his presence.

He was helpless in these situations. It would help nothing for him to defeat Silver in battle and that was the only method for helping his trainer that he knew. The only thing he could do was stay by her side and help in any way he could. It was his duty.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Huh?" Lily asked, turning in her chair, "who could that be?" However, she did not rise to answer it.

The knock came again.

"Mistress," Shinobi was almost afraid to speak, "may I?" Lily nodded and Shinobi darted over to the door. When he opened it, Mark stood on the other side with Cherry standing next to him. Maple was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," the boy greeted, looking around the room, "so…how's it going?"

"It's going good," Lily nodded. She bounced up onto her feet and walked over to him. "How are you?"

"Umm…good," Mark peered at the girl, "umm…your eyes look kinda…bloodshot."

"Oh, really? They don't really hurt," Lily lied before blinking a few times. She kept her voice light and cheerful, "where's Maple?"

"Oh, she's with Kim, right now," Mark told her, "we're actually about to go get her. But, I figured we would check on you."

"Oh, really, why?" Lily asked innocently.

"Well…" Mark wasn't sure what to say. The earlier text he received had been typed by Shinobi. Lily must have been able to answer, but hadn't. In fact, Mark was becoming suspicious that Lily had been in the hotel all morning. What was going on? "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Lily sighed, smiling warmly at him, "oh! I'm glad you're here, though!"

"Really?" Mark asked.

"Uh-huh," Lily nodded, "I wanted to tell you that Aroma isn't going to be fighting in our next match. She usually doesn't fight, anyway, but it'll just be two-on-two."

"Oh…okay," Mark nodded.

He hadn't thought about Aroma. Most of his concerns for the fight against Lily had involved Shinobi. Maple wouldn't be able to touch him and it would be up to Cherry to defeat the bug-ninja.

Aroma, though, was a human Meganium and a grass-type. Both Maple and Cherry would stand a reasonable chance of defeating her. But Aroma and Cherry had been friends in the Team Deus prison. With Aroma out, Mark wouldn't have to worry about Cherry being reluctant to fight her. It was a small change, but it was something.

"So, did you need anything?" Lily asked, still nothing but smiles despite her bloodshot eyes.

"No…I guess not," Mark shrugged. The only reason he was standing there was to make sure they were alright. With that answered, what else was there to do? He didn't really want to tell her that their small force for fighting Team Deus was falling apart, either.

"Okay, I'll see you later, then," Lily waved and closed the door.

"Bye, I guess…" Mark said to the closed door.

* * *

><p>Aroma followed close behind Silver as the two human Pokémon ducked through the trees of Palkia's Woods. The two were alone except for the wild Pokémon that they passed. The Aipom in the trees squeaked and jeered at the human Meganium and Absol. Aroma couldn't help feeling somewhat depressed over their hostile reactions.<p>

"Ignore them," Silver told her, "they won't bother us. They're just afraid of what we are." He knew her too well. Aroma couldn't help feeling sympathetic towards them. It was just the way she was.

As if to distract her, Silver began to walk faster. He left the path and began jumping over bushes and ducking under low branches. Smiling to herself at the game, Aroma began to chase after him. They wordlessly raced each other, gradually moving faster and faster until they were both running at full speed.

The woods seemed to stretch on forever and two or three times Aroma could've sworn that they passed the same tree again. But that was alright. She wouldn't mind it one bit if the woods went on forever. It was just her and Silver alone in the trees. Just like Silver said, the Aipom disappeared one by one.

_Just us_, she thought, _just us, all alone in the woods_.

Aroma was running as fast as she could, but Silver was still faster. Both she and he felt at home in the forest, but the human Absol was just naturally faster. He used it to his advantage, racing well ahead of Aroma.

"What's wrong?" Silver called back, playfully, "can't keep up?" Aroma felt completely out of breath, but Silver still had plenty more. She began to lose him as he weaved through the trees. He vanished from sight a few times as Aroma ran after him.

"Hey!" she called out, "slow…down…you know I can't…run that…fast…" The Meganium-woman panted, though still smiling to herself. Her heart was racing just as fast as the rest of her body.

A few moments later, she was too tired to keep up with Silver at all. He vanished the next time he turned around a tree.

"Silver!" Aroma called out, "Silver! I can't…keep up. Come on…stop it…" She groaned as she came to a stop, breathing heavily. She couldn't even hear Silver anymore. He was long gone. Now she would have to wait for him to realize she wasn't following anymore and come back.

With nothing else to do, she looked around the trees. Even underneath the gray sky of the day, Palkia's Woods possessed a serene beauty. It was quiet, safe, and, best of all, private.

Back in the city, there were so many people it was impossible to be alone with Silver. Even worse, Aroma had seen how Lily had looked at Silver before. She would have to be a fool not to recognize that Lily had feelings for Silver. The problem was; Silver did not return those feelings in the slightest. Instead, he looked at Aroma. And she couldn't say she didn't like it.

Suddenly, Aroma heard something rustling around the bushes to her left.

She whirled to look for the culprit. It couldn't be Silver, he was too far away. He would have to double back to be able to find her.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice shaking. She was still out of breath from chasing Silver.

There was no response.

Was it some kind of Pokémon? It hadn't sounded like any of the Pokémon she had seen in the woods. It was much too big. No, it had to be a person.

She wasn't alone. Somehow, something had followed them into the woods.

"_Silver_?!" Aroma called out, her long, mint-green hair swirling as she looked from side-to-side. Panicking, she struggled to think of what to do. If she screamed or ran after Silver then whatever was lurking in the woods might just spring out and attack her.

Her imagination began to run wild as she pictured what horrible creatures could be waiting for her. The worst of all was the man that had kidnapped her on the first night of the tournament. She had never felt so helpless in her entire life and he had enjoyed every moment of it. He had vanished once he had left her in the prison cell and Aroma had never seen him again. She didn't even know his real name. What if he was back?

Keeping her eyes locked on the spot where the noise had come from, she began to back away slowly…

Suddenly, a pair of arms circled around her waist and lifted her clean off of her feet with almost no effort. She kicked and screamed and tried to twist away.

"Gotcha!"

Aroma instantly recognized Silver's voice. All of her terror switched to delight as she realized it was his strong arms that were wrapped around her.

"You…you!" Aroma stammered, happy and angry at the same time, "How?!"

"You'd be surprised what you can get Substitutes to do," Silver grinned as he set Aroma down and turned her to face him. He was referring to the Silver that had outran her and vanished behind a tree. It had only been a copy.

"You tricked me!" Aroma lightly pounded on his chest, "don't _do_ that!"

"Ohhh, come on," Silver scoffed, "it was fun, wasn't it?"

"Well…" Aroma didn't want to agree, but her heart was beating so fast it was hard not to. The "danger" had been scary, but…fun at the same time.

Gently, Silver lifted her chin up and kissed her. It was light and quick, more playful than passionate, but with her heart racing, it was hard for Aroma to tell the difference.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Aroma dropped her gaze from Silver's bright and mysterious, red eyes.

"And why's that?" Silver asked, playing with the flowers that rimmed the neck-line of her mint-green dress.

"Well…what about Lily?" Aroma had never brought it up before and she didn't want to. Still, Lily was her best friend. She owed her that much.

"Lily?" Silver seemed genuinely surprised that she asked. Hurting Lily's feelings must have never crossed his mind. "Look, I know she likes me, but…I just don't like her back. She should be able to realize that."

"Will you at least talk to her?" Aroma asked, "She'll only feel worse if she keeps seeing us together."

"I know, I know," Silver nodded, "I'll talk to her. I don't even know why she likes me. I mean," he paused and ran his hand along the curved horn extending from the side of his head, "this thing isn't exactly the kind of thing a girl should chase after."

"What about me?" Aroma asked, "I don't think it's bad at all."

"That's different," Silver shook his head, "we're the same. But me and Lily? No, I don't think so," he paused before his next confession, "I doubt she knows what she really wants, anyway."

Aroma sighed. It was ugly to think about, but Silver was probably right. Humans and their human Pokémon shouldn't be together. Maybe there were people that thought differently, but did it ever work out? Aroma doubted it and had never heard of a time when it did.

They may look, talk, and act like humans, but they were still more Pokémon than human. Perhaps they shouldn't pretend to be like humans at all.

"And what do you want?" Aroma prompted. Her heart was still racing, but now it was for a different reason.

In answer, Silver kissed her again.

And then he kissed her again.

She felt his hands move around behind her and hug her tighter against him. She did the same, gripping onto his muscled shoulders and drawing him in. His breath mingled with hers as she opened her mouth and kissed him more deeply. His mouth began to move downward, kissing her neck as she continued to caress his back.

She brought her hands around and felt for the edges of his jacket. They broke apart just long enough for the two of them to finish tearing off his jacket and toss it aside. The instant they were finished, they pulled back together. They began to kiss each other faster and faster.

Aroma gasped for breath as Silver's hands began to caress her waist. He kissed her at the base of her neck leaving behind spots that were wet and cool at the same time. She grabbed a hold of his belt and practically ripped it from his jeans. His shirt came next. Together, they lifted it up, careful not to rip it on his horn. Then that too was tossed aside and forgotten about.

Aroma leaned in and kissed Silver directly on his firm chest. He hugged her tight and rubbed her back as she soaked in the feeling of his warm, strong body. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she could feel her body growing warmer by the second. She drew back and once again they breathed together as they kissed each other open-mouthed.

Time all but stood still as the forest faded away around them. They were the only two people in the entire world.

_Just us_, Aroma thought for a brief moment, _please, let it be just us. Here. Alone. Forever._

Silver's fingers found the zipper at the top of her dress. As he started to pull down, Aroma could feel the cool air against her bare back.

* * *

><p>Fate's eyes shot wide as she broke off the connection with the Meganium-girl.<p>

Her body was shaking uncontrollably. Just like Aroma, Fate could feel her heart racing. Her throat was dry and her whole body felt warm. She gasped for breath as she forced herself to return to her present location.

"What's with you?" Whisper, still disguised as Maraca, peered down at the Gardevoir-woman.

Without answering, Fate stood up. Her legs were so wobbly she could barely stand. The lingering effects of the psychic link were overwhelming. Part of her could still feel the strong grip of Silver's hands against her back and his hot breath inside her mouth.

Breathing heavily, Fate began to walk away. She needed to calm down and she needed air. The stifling alleyways of the docks and Whisper's irritating presence could not help her. She clung to the walls for support as she continued forward.

Fate had never felt anything like that in her entire life. She was completely unprepared for the intensity of the sensation. She might have kept the connection if she could, but her mind wasn't prepared for it. Her powers were not strong enough to maintain the connection if she lost her concentration even for a moment.

"Maybe I could…I could…oh, holy Arceus," she said aloud without meaning to.

She slumped against the nearest building, sliding along the side. The concrete wall was cool and soothing. She struggled to focus on it and forget about the heat that had spread throughout her body.

Still panting, she turned to look out at the ocean. She focused on the sound of the waves and the smell of the sea breeze. They were sensations that helped remind her of whom she was and where she was.

At long last, Fate could breathe easier and the intense heat that had spread throughout her body began to fade away. Her hands stopped shaking a little bit at a time. She closed her eyes again and breathed deeply.

She was back to herself. She was back on the docks of Himitsu Island and away from that spot in Palkia's Woods. The spot where Aroma and Silver were now…

Fate put her hand to her head, covering up the one eye that wasn't obscured by her hair.

"It was so strong," she whispered to herself. There was no explanation why. She had made psychic connections with many targets before. She saw what they saw and felt what they felt. Sight, smell, taste, and even pain were always conveyed straight to her. But nothing had ever affected her like this. It was the first time she had ever felt the passion and intensity that two lovers could have for each other.

She sighed and leaned back against the building. She needed to be alone to rest and recover. If she waited and helped fulfill Aroma's wish, she would be fine in just a few more minutes.

It was odd to think so, but Fate actually felt grateful to Aroma. After all, she and Silver had given her an experience that she knew very little about. Perhaps next time, if she could concentrate, Fate would stay with them until they finished.

She smiled to herself at the idea and felt her body grow a bit warmer.

But even though she was grateful to Aroma, this changed nothing. The Meganium-girl still needed to die. Cal wanted it. And what Cal wanted was more important than anything.

Still, Fate would have to thank Aroma before she killed her.

* * *

><p>AN: so…yeah…that just happened<p>

In some ways, it's actually kinda cool that I got to do this chapter so close to Valentine's Day. I mean, I didn't write it because it's Valentine's, it's just rather convenient that it is.

So…Happy Valentine's Day, I guess!

Anyways, thanks for reading and I'll cya next time!


	76. Fighting with Friends

Chapter 74

_They gave her that?!_ Quickstep thought when Maple's eyes began to glow red, _Aurum, what the hell were you thinking?_

Apparently, Astral had left out a key detail of Maple's training when he told Quickstep that Aurum had a new apprentice. They had given the girl the ability to use the Red State. Even if it was meant to make the girl strong in a short amount of time, it was too risky. Too many things could go wrong with it.

Even amongst the Four, few human Pokémon could use the Red State. In fact, there weren't any on RiverofTears's entire team. Quickstep had it, but outside of a battle with Edge he refrained from using it. In truth, it scared him. And he was well within his rights to be scared. After all, Tempest, the first to evolve into a human and the first to access the Red State, had come dangerously close to killing both River and Sky when she triggered it by accident. Even now, Tempest had difficulty controlling it. Especially when combined with Outrage.

The little Leafeon-girl in front of him did not have the experience that Tempest did. Maybe she wasn't quite the angry bitch that Tempest could be, but Aurum had given Maple a box of matches without any way to put out the fire. She could easily lose the control she did have.

Quickstep tilted his head back as Maple's Leafblade came within a centimeter of his nose. The girl was so fast and strong, Quickstep had difficulty believing it. She had come to the island a two-week old, baby, human Pokémon. Six days later, she was just about on par with Quickstep and the rest of the human Pokémon underneath the Four.

And all of it was thanks to the Red State glowing in her eyes.

The power boost was impressive, but how much control did she have? Throughout their sparring match, Quickstep had seen her eyes flare brightly several times. Whenever she managed to draw blood, her attacks increased to the point of savagery. Thankfully, Quickstep was quick enough to be able to stay ahead of her most of the time. Whenever she did draw blood, it was little more than a trickle and they always stopped shortly after it happened to heal their wounds.

Without her trainer's influence, if Maple scored a true hit there would be no stopping her.

But Maple never suspected Quickstep's concerns as they fought each other.

The Leafeon-girl was more concerned with keeping up with the human Mienshao. Most of his attacks were kicks that came quickly and suddenly. His long sleeves moved frequently and served to distract her. They hid the direction of his next attack until just a split second before it happened. His kicks were awesomely powerful, too. It took only one or two direct hits before Maple was coughing up blood and they would have to stop for a break.

Even still, fighting Quickstep was easier than fighting Katana. Maple could take more hits from Katana, but against the Weavile-woman, Maple often felt like she was slashing at the wind. Fighting Quickstep hurt, a lot, but she hurt him plenty as well. They stopped to heal his wounds more and more frequently.

The best moment of the afternoon came just over an hour into their sparring match.

Maple was coming at Quickstep in her usual spinning attack, slashing with her leaf-like tail. She missed three times before stopping. As her back was turned, Quickstep's right leg came up, aiming for her shoulder. Unable to see the attack, but knowing it was coming, Maple ducked underneath it while simultaneously bringing her tail up in an arc, behind her. Leaping into the air, she slashed up Quickstep's right side. The attack cut a long slash from mid-waist to shoulder, ripping his shirt and letting out a river of blood.

Sweet victory screaming in her ears, Maple pressed the attack, ready to finish her partner and claim her second victory over one of the Four's human Pokémon.

But then, Quickstep's eyes began to glow red.

Maple had dropped her defenses as she closed in, but that gave Quickstep the chance he needed to stop her. His left leg snapped forward like a whip and struck Maple in the stomach. Shouting in pain, Maple bounced backwards along the ground.

Before she stopped, she managed to regain her footing. She lifted her head back up and launched herself at her opponent.

"Maple, STOP!" Quickstep screamed.

Skidding to a halt, Maple remembered their agreement to stop whenever someone was bleeding. How had she forgotten that?

"Oh, no!" she cried, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" As she apologized, she released the Red State. But, for some reason, she was sad to feel it go this time. Had it ever done that before?

"It's alright…" Quickstep grimaced in pain as he clutched his bleeding side, "I'm still up. Just grab a Hyper Potion and quick!"

Maple raced over to the bag of food and medicine Quickstep had borrowed from the Meadow Sisters and fumbled through it for the potion. There were still several bottles of blue liquid in the side pouch. She rushed one over to Quickstep and knelt with him while he drained the bottle.

A few moments later, Quickstep's wound began to close and the blood dried on his injured body. Sucking in a deep breath, Quickstep felt the pain fade completely. He looked over at Maple, her light-brown eyes wide with alarm. It was so difficult to grasp how deadly the little blond girl was.

That had been too close. If Quickstep hadn't activated his own Red State at the last moment, Maple could have, and probably _would_ have, killed him. He couldn't blame her, though. That was just how the Red State worked. Without training and without Mark to help calm her, the Red State would just take over.

Quickstep cursed his stupidity. This training session was a horrible idea. He should have stopped it the moment her eyes started glowing red. Maple was already in a fragile emotional state. Her trainer was ignoring her, nobody wanted to help their cause, and she was lost and confused around total strangers. With all of that, it was kind of surprising she could hold the Red State back at all.

"Why did Aurum teach you that, anyway?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Teach me what?" Maple asked innocently.

"The Red State," Quickstep shook his head, "that is some seriously dangerous crap they decided to dump on you."

"Oh," Maple hung her head, "that…" When she blinked, she remembered the time when she had fought Coraline. She only remembered failing to keep up with her and slowly losing the fight. Then there was a blank and the Banette-girl's slashed and bloody body was lying on the ground in front of her.

"Why the hell did they do that?" Quickstep asked again.

"I don't know…" Maple whimpered, "It was Katana's idea. But, I needed to get strong. We needed to win our match…"

"All that just for a stupid tournament?" Quickstep scoffed. Sometimes he hated how much people blindly loved Silph's beloved "Evolution Cup." The whole thing was meant to bring together human Pokémon and their trainers. It accomplished that well enough, but the tournament itself was a glorified showcase. It was an excuse, not the true reason for coming to Himitsu Island.

But there were also those where the tournament was the true reason they were here. For those people, winning meant a lot and sometimes it was everything. Sky was one of those people and it was one more reason Quickstep hated him. Winning a Pokémon battle proved nothing. That wasn't what they were for.

"Listen," Quickstep put a hand on Maple's shoulder, "there's no way to take that back. But, promise me something."

"Umm…what?" Maple drew back a tiny bit from his touch. It wasn't right.

"You're already stronger than most of the Pokémon in the entire _world_," he explained, "so, what's the point in getting stronger if it means using something like that?"

Maple hung her head again and thought about that. Mark had told her something like that before. Back when they had first arrived. She didn't have to fight at all if she didn't want to. They could stop whenever they wanted and nothing would change. She could just spend the rest of the tournament with Mark and forget about getting stronger.

Maple shook her head and lifted Quickstep's hand from her shoulder.

"I know," she nodded, "but I want to get stronger. I really do. I want to be like you and Katana and Tempest. I can do it. I know I can." She moved away from Quickstep. It was time for her to go, "I'm sorry that I hurt you, I really am. But I'll get better at it."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Quickstep warned.

"I'll be fine," Maple snapped back, "don't worry about me so much. I don't _want_ you to protect me."

"Maple!" Quickstep shot to his feet, "Dammit, I-"

"I hate to interrupt," a calm, polite voice cut off Quickstep, "but I'm afraid it's time for Maple to leave us."

Maple turned around to see a human Bronzong standing just behind her. She stood up to greet him…or her. It was a little hard to tell.

"Umm…I'm sorry," Maple apologized, "who are you?"

"My name is Astral, child," the Bronzong answered, "I serve EdgeoftheEarth and I am the eyes and ears of the Four."

_Child_? Maple thought. She was getting sick of people treating her like a baby.

"My apologies," Astral bowed his head slightly, "would 'young lady' be more appropriate?"

"Huh?" Maple stared at him, "did you just-?"

"Read your thoughts?" Astral grinned slightly, "Yes, I did. I apologize for that, as well. Many do not appreciate it. However, it is an excellent way to gather information."

"Umm…"

"But on to the matter at hand," Astral continued, "I believe I must inform you that your trainer has finished his duties somewhat earlier than expected. He has started searching for you…and is not likely to know of your presence here."

"Mark's looking for me!" half-panicking, Maple looked around in alarm. She needed to leave right away.

Astral pointed to her bouquet of flowers, forgotten on the ground just a few feet away. Maple rushed over to scoop them up and dashed away.

"You'll find him in the center of town!" Astral called after her, "but be wary, it's not likely he'll be in a positive mind set!"

* * *

><p><em>Well,<em> Mark thought, _at least she's not hurt_.

His brief conversation with Lily still bothered him. Ever since meeting her, Mark had never really understood Lily. She was always pleasant and cheerful, but there was something forced about it. It was as if she were hiding something.

But what could she have to hide? She should know that she could trust Mark. If there was anything that he could do to help, he would. So, what was happening that she didn't want to share? He had no idea.

It was strange to think that he would be fighting her in just two more days. Unlike his fight against Tristan, he and Lily were not enemies, but friends. Instead, Mark had seen him as a dangerous enemy that had threatened him and Maple. Even if he wasn't really evil, it had been easier to fight Tristan.

Mark had no second thoughts about fighting Tristan, but Lily was not Tristan. Lily was not the dangerous and unstable opponent Tristan had been. Instead, she was a meek, though cheerful girl who had come to the tournament just to meet people and make friends. And wasn't that what Pokémon battles were really all about, in the end?

Battles between friends were far from unheard of and it was common for a Pokémon battle to bring two people closer. So why was he suddenly so worried about fighting Lily?

Mark shook his head. He was worried about Lily, sure, but it had nothing to do with their battle. Two friends could fight a Pokémon battle without hurting that friendship. He needed to remind himself of that.

"So, where are we going, now?" Cherry asked as they left the hotel behind.

"Kim said that she usually hangs around the beach," Mark explained, "so, that should be where we can find them."

Mark and Cherry made their way to the beach. On the way there, Mark realized that the beach was the only remaining area on the island that he hadn't visited yet. While the forest and volcano dominated the western half of the island, the city took up the eastern half. From there, the shipping docks took up the southeastern coast and the public beaches were along the northeastern coast. It was a half-hour walk from the hotel.

They could hear and smell the ocean before they could see it. The sound of rushing waves against the shore drifted far inland. Though he had Surfed with his Pokémon before, Mark had never ventured out into the open ocean. Himitsu Island was the most exotic and faraway place he had ever been to.

However, he was a little underwhelmed at seeing Himitsu Island's beaches. It was a short beach-line, maybe only a hundred yards between the city pavement and the ocean. Still, the water looked clean, blue, and free of pollution. Not to mention that the ocean itself always had a kind of awe-inspiring quality to it. Mark didn't count himself as a beach-lover, but he knew enough to say that Himitsu Island had what mattered.

There was a volleyball game being played between a mixed group of human Pokémon. There were no humans playing; as they would undoubtedly be outclassed by the physically stronger human Pokémon.

The net spanned about thirty feet of the beach and had ten players for each side. As Mark came closer, he realized that all of the players were men.

He soon recognized Volt amongst them, aggressively chasing after the ball regardless of where it was heading. Unfortunately, his play-style worked against him as a human Ambipom seized the chance to score and spiked the ball right into the section that Volt was supposed to be defending. Volt screamed out in rage and shot a Thunderbolt skyward to vent. The others barely took notice and only chuckled a little before the game continued.

But a familiar voice called out, taunting the human Raichu.

"It's just a game, Volt!"

Underneath the shade of a beach umbrella, Sprinkle looked like a mermaid, stretched out with her tail curled up next to her, occasionally flopping up and down a bit. There were two more muscular, male human Pokémon close by her, but she acted as though their presence was a given. The rest of the beach was an even mix between men, women, and their human Pokémon. Yet, it seemed to Mark that Sprinkle was somehow the centerpiece of the whole beach.

It took a few moments to find Kim, who was about ten feet behind Sprinkle and her entourage. Still in sneakers and jeans, she was not dressed for the beach as her Vaporeon-girl was. Mark could see a baseball bat lying in the sand close by. However, he began to grow worried as he scanned the beach. Maple was not with them.

Mark began to weave his way through the crowd of beach-goers. He headed directly for Kim, though he couldn't help but glance towards Sprinkle as he got closer. The Vaporeon-girl was astoundingly attractive, there was no denying it.

"Best idea I've ever had," Kim sighed aloud as Mark approached, "I mean, look at it," she waved at the volleyball game, "they get to show off, be 'manly,' and fight for Sprinkle's attention. And I don't have to scream at them to give her space. Everybody wins!"

"This was your idea?" Mark asked.

"Yep," Kim nodded, "bought the net and a few volleyballs and the rest took care of itself."

"Okay…" Mark didn't really understand what she was talking about, but she seemed happy. Still, there was a reason he was here.

"Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's Maple?"

"Oh…yeah…" Kim sighed deeply, "uhh…I guess I should apologize. I didn't think you'd be back this soon…"

"Apologize for what?" Mark pressed, his voice growing impatient, "where is she? I left her with you for a reason."

"Yeah, I know," Kim nodded, her own voice rising along with Mark's, "but I'm sure she's fine. I mean, she can take care of herself. She's a big girl."

"Kim," Mark insisted, "I'll ask one more time. Where's Maple?"

"Ugh…" Kim bit her lip, "you're gonna kill me…she went off with this guy. Some human Mienshao named Quickstep."

"She did what?" Mark stared, "with who?"

"I don't know!" Kim snapped, "I don't know who he was. He just said he was with PureBlueSky or something. But Maple seemed to trust him, so, I let her go."

"You let her go with somebody you didn't know?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Kim retorted, "She's not _five_."

"She's younger than that!" Mark burst out, "She's not even _three_!"

His mind suddenly went into a panic. It was the biker incident all over again. He lost Maple and she was off with somebody that he didn't know and couldn't trust. If Kim didn't know this "Quickstep" he could be anybody. He could be Whisper in disguise for all they knew!

"Kim…" Mark kept his voice relatively calm as he felt himself boiling over, "tell me you know where they went."

"The hotel," Kim sighed, "like I said, the guy said he was with PureBlueSky. They were going to visit somebody. I forget who."

"Thanks," Mark rolled his eyes, "you've been a _huge_ help."

"HEY!" Kim shot to her feet, deciding she wouldn't take this any longer, "maybe you forgot, but I didn't exactly _volunteer_ to look after Maple! Maybe if you had the balls to be honest with her we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Mark yelled back. Cherry began to shrink away as the two friends screamed at each other.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Kim screeched, "The girl's in love with you and you don't have a goddamned clue what to do about it! You said the same goddamned thing to me just the other day!"

"Okay!" Mark shouted back, "for starters, that's none of your business! And-"

"BULLSHIT it isn't my business!" Kim cut him off, "you're the one who adopted me as your 'big sister.' I didn't sign up for that job! You just latched onto me and started asking for advice! Well, here's my damned advice: _grow the hell up and TALK to the girl_!"

"How the hell am I supposed to talk to her if she's not even here?! You know, with the only other person on this whole island I'd trust with that responsibility! The person that I trust the most!" Mark was so angry his hands were shaking and he could feel his face turning red, "We're FRIENDS! But I guess that doesn't _mean_ anything to you, does it?! Goddamn it, Kim!"

Kim took a step back. Something he said made her pause.

"You…trust me more than anybody?" she asked. She must have heard that wrong.

"Dammit!" Mark threw up his arms in his rage before storming off of the beach.

As he went, Kim looked around in a daze as all the eyes on the small beach focused on her. Sprinkle was running towards her, leaving her escorts behind.

"Sprinkle…" Kim reached out for her best friend's hand, "can we leave early today?"

* * *

><p><em>Dammit, dammit, dammit<em>, Mark mentally cursed as he stomped through the city streets.

"Slow down!" Cherry yelled, "You're walking too fast!"

"We need to find Maple," he snapped, "get in your Pokéball if you can't keep up!"

"_No_!" Cherry whined, "That was mean, back there! It's not her fault!"

"Cherry, shut up!" Mark yelled. This day was getting worse and worse. He hadn't expected to get so angry at Kim like that. Somehow, it just happened. Everything she said was true, but what gave her the right to scream it at him like that? He trusted her like a big sister, how could she let him down like that?

Okay, maybe Maple wasn't as naïve as she had been during that biker incident, but all of them knew that Team Deus was still lurking around the island. They were wildly dangerous and bound to strike again. As the only people on the island who knew, they needed to stay close or it would be too easy for Team Deus to attack them.

And now that group was falling apart too. Cara and Eric had already decided to return to their own lives and so were Lily and Kim. Should he do the same and forget about the base hidden underneath their feet?

Maybe they were right. There was too much for Mark to deal with. He couldn't balance training Cherry, the match against Lily, Team Deus, Suicune's cryptic message, and his relationship with Maple all at the same time. Something had to go.

"Is it true what she said?" Cherry asked, though her voice was still upset, "that Maple's in love with you, but you don't like her back?"

"It's not that simple," Mark shook his head.

"Why not?! Either you like her, or you don't."

"I don't know, Cherry," Mark insisted, "and this is _not_ the time!"

They walked in silence from then on. Mark continued to take long, angry strides, walking as fast as possible without running. Next to him, Cherry had to half-jog to keep up.

They had just entered the square when Maple appeared through the crowded streets, running as fast as she could.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Maple panted as she came to a stop in front of them. Most of the petals were gone from her bouquet of flowers.

"Where _were_ you?" Mark hissed as he stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders. He didn't really mean to sound angry, but his fight with Kim was still fresh in his mind.

"Umm…" Maple stuttered, "I was training w-with Quickstep…" Normally, whenever Mark touched her, it was the most wonderful sensation in the world. But not this time.

"Who's Quickstep?! Why did you leave Kim?!"

"H-he's one of PureBlueSky's human Pokémon. W-we saw Flurry and went to go v-visit RiverofTears and…Mark, that hurts…"

Mark drew back, letting go of Maple's shoulders. There were red marks on her skin where he had been holding her.

His anger fled in moments, replaced with complete shame.

_Oh my God, I'm an asshole_, he thought. Maple's big, brown eyes were wide as she looked at him. What was that expression? Fear? God, he hoped not.

"I'm sorry, Maple," he apologized, "let's just go."

"Okay," she nodded, "I'm sorry, too."

They walked back to their hotel room, each of them too afraid to speak.

* * *

><p>AN: holy sheet. By the grace of God, I'm FINALLY back! Almost literally too, since Easter vacation is pretty much the only reason I had enough time to write a chapter.<p>

Not exactly the kind of chapter I would've preferred to come back on, but…well…it is what it is. Day 6 is depressing and the damned thing needs to end.

Sadly, I must once again inform you that my work schedule is STILL crazy. I've been working a minimum of 65 hours a week for the past month and a half. Seriously, never grow up kids, it sucks balls. Of course, I will try to post as often as I can, but, again…yeah…

Keep your fingers crossed that I'll be able to post again before Memorial Day (I think that's the next time I'll be on vacation).

In the meantime, if you're still eager to read something written in this world, I invite you to check out Chrischunk's story The Children of Jirachi: Leo's Tale. He PMed around…two months ago? (again, never grow up, kids) asking if he could write his own story based on this story. Naturally, I said yes as the idea of there being fan fiction based on my fan fiction is awesome and amazing.

Now, for obvious reasons, I haven't had the chance to read it just yet, so, I can't vouch for how good it is. However, I believe it is set during the previous tournament (three years prior to this story) and follows Chrischunk's own original character Leo with appearances by Kim and PureBlueSky (maybe others). So, if it sounds like your thing, be sure to check it out.

Additionally, if there's anybody else that wants to write something based on The Children of Jirachi, I am 100% behind you. I'd be a horrible, horrible hypocrite if I wrote fan fiction but forbid people from writing fan fiction based on my fan fiction.

All I ask is that in your disclaimer (you know, the part where you say "I do not own Pokémon") just add in a quick line about this story. Something like "based on characters, events, and locations found in The Children of Jirachi by orangeshoelaces." That's it. other than that, go nuts. Alternate timeline, additional characters, whatever.

Just remember that what I post here is, for all intents and purposes, considered The Children of Jirachi "canon."

I guess that's all I wanted to say. So, I will see you when I see you.

Thanks for reading!


	77. The Loser Named Lionel

Chapter 75

Ever since Lionel had joined Team Deus, he had been scared most of the time. Scared that someone would hurt him, scared that he would disappoint someone, or even scared that he might do what they wanted and succeed at it. Their human Pokémon were especially frightening. Most true human Pokémon were more human than Pokémon and fought very little. But the kind that Team Deus used were difficult to even call Pokémon. They were too savage, too wild, to be called Pokémon.

However, as much as the creations of Team Deus scared him, they didn't scare him as much as Tesla, the human Galvantula.

It was impossible for Lionel to look Tesla in the eye. The human Galvantula had four of them. They were shaped the same as a person's but they were half the size. Two eyes shared a single eye socket on his face, one right on top of the other. It reminded Lionel of biology class when a cell splits in two and becomes two cells instead. When he blinked, four eyelids slid shut. Tesla's eyes also lacked pupils or irises or corneas. The entire eye was a solid, dark blue. It was impossible to tell where he was looking.

Unable to look at those freakish eyes, Lionel tried to look elsewhere. Only then, his eyes shifted to the dead, limp, spider-like appendages at Tesla's sides. They were attached around the base of his rib cage and extended another foot. They were covered with thick, yellow hair. That might suggest there was still life in them, but they flopped uselessly whenever Tesla moved.

Cal had brought the two of them out of the basement and hidden them in the office that Lionel now slept in. He still had his hotel room, in the city, but Lionel was too afraid to return. If he crossed paths with Mark and his friends…he didn't want to think about it.

"It's quiet, up here," Tesla observed. According to Cal, the human Galvantula had been surrounded by the screams of failed experiments for over two years. It was lucky that he was still sane.

Even still, Cal had warned Lionel to be cautious and, above all, patient with Tesla. The change would be hard enough and there were plenty of reasons for Tesla to just start attacking everyone and everything in sight.

They spent the entire afternoon re-introducing Tesla to the world. First, they let him shower and wash away the grime and dirt of his prison cell. Cal let Lionel take off his shock collar. As an electric-type, it would be useless for stopping Tesla, anyway. The limitations of the collar were one of the key reasons that Tesla had been able to kill two Team Deus agents before being captured.

"I don't get it," Lionel had confessed to Cal, "you said he's impossible to control. Why isn't he just…attacking us?"

"It's you," Cal smirked, proud he had picked the right person for the job, "he can tell that you're not like the rest of us. You can use that."

Lionel wasn't sure what that meant, but he was glad that he was finally proving useful to Cal and Team Deus. So far, his time as a member had been nothing but a string of failures.

Next, they let Tesla eat. Not the measly prison food of stale bread, dried meat, and water, but a real meal straight out of the cafeteria. He ate quickly and silently, stopping only once his third plate was licked clean.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it," Cal suddenly announced, once Tesla was finished eating.

"Wait, what?" Lionel gaped at him, "w-what do I do now?"

"I don't know," Cal said without concern, "talk, bribe, fight. Do whatever you need to do. Just make sure he's ready for Farin. We're challenging him tonight and I need both of you to be ready."

"_Tonight_?!" Lionel gasped.

"Yes, tonight," Cal sighed, "now, c'mon. Stop being such a child and take some responsibility. You want to be accepted in Team Deus? Well, here's your shot. But this time, there are no second chances."

An hour had passed since Cal had left them alone and Lionel still had no idea what to do. Simply being in the same room with Tesla terrified him. How could he possibly train something that scared him like that?

"So…uhh…" Lionel tried to start. If Tesla were a regular Pokémon this would've been much easier. Well…maybe not easier, but at least he would know what to do. Battles proved everything in Pokémon. Battling was how a trainer showed his strength and earned the respect of the Pokémon he fought. If Tesla was a regular Galvantula, Lionel could beat him in battle and earn his loyalty that way. Could it be true for human Pokémon as well? Lionel reached for a Pokéball, trying to decide which one would be the best for fighting an electric and bug-type.

"Stop," Tesla said quietly.

Lionel obeyed.

The boy shuffled his feet and stared at the floor, instead. Beaten before he even started. What kind of loser was he?"

Across the room, Tesla focused his quadruple eyes on the blond boy. Since leaving his cell, Tesla had been trying to figure out what was going on. He was being recruited to fight someone, but was still unclear as to whom. He was also meant to partner with the blond boy named Lionel, but that also made little sense.

Animals, Pokémon and humans alike could sense weakness and use it to their advantage. If one wanted to control a difficult Pokémon, they would need a strong trainer. Trainers needed to prove themselves and earn the respect their Pokémon gave them. So, why send this weak little boy to him? He certainly wasn't going to earn Tesla's respect through a show of strength.

"You're name's Lionel, right?" Tesla asked the boy.

"Y-yeah," he answered.

"You can stop trembling," Tesla sighed, "I'm not going to hurt you."

"R-really?!"

"Yes, really," Tesla closed his eyes and shook his head, "what do you think I am? One of those monsters in the basement?"

"Uhh…" Lionel didn't want to answer, but he almost said 'yes.' Lionel didn't really know what the difference was and he figured that Tesla had to be down there for a reason. After what he had heard, why shouldn't he be afraid of Tesla?

Suddenly, Tesla was walking towards him. Lionel shrank against the wall. Those unnatural, freakish eyes were right in front of him.

"Look at me," Tesla commanded him. But the boy didn't listen. His eyes shifted all around the room, looking anywhere and everywhere that wasn't at Tesla.

The human Galvantula closed his eyes and breathed deep. For the two days that Rob saw his strange, quadruple, solid blue eyes, not once had he been afraid. No one else ever had that reaction. No one else accepted it.

"LOOK AT ME!" Tesla screamed.

The effort was almost physically painful, but Lionel somehow managed to look at Tesla's face…and his eyes.

"Good," Tesla told him, "now, keep looking at me and tell me what you're doing with these people."

"I don't know what-"

"Bullshit," Tesla scoffed, "you know exactly what I mean. I've been around these people for a long, long time. You're not one of them. You're not some hardened criminal. You're just a kid. Now, tell me how you got here."

"I don't know," Lionel shrugged, "I didn't…I mean, I don't _want_ to be here."

"I know," Tesla closed his eyes for a few seconds to give the kid a break, "just tell me how it happened."

Lionel told his story as truthfully as he could.

The hard truth that many Pokémon trainers didn't understand when they set out was how difficult it was to make it on your own as a Pokémon trainer. A trainer's journey could last years or an entire lifetime. But mostly, it ended after a few months, maybe even as little as a few weeks.

When a trainer's Pokémon journey began, they left everything behind; family, friends, school, an entire life that wasn't coming with them. Starting at such a young age, trainers were not always prepared for what lay ahead. Moving from place to place, earning money, and even just living alone could be too much. Earning badges and qualifying for Pokémon tournaments was a dream shared by many. Sadly, that dream was often short-lived.

After a hard losing streak, or a few bad gym losses, it was easy for a traveling trainer to lose heart, start to get homesick, and seek out a quieter, easier life. Living at home, going to school, and growing up just like any other kid might not be as exciting, but there was no shame in stopping. Not everyone could grow up to be a Pokémon master.

Lionel had suffered through plenty of hard times, just like any other normal trainer. But he didn't give up and go home. Lionel's dad was a famous and successful trainer. He couldn't face going home and telling his dad that he couldn't do it.

"So that's when you heard about Team Deus?" Tesla interrupted Lionel's story.

"No, actually," Lionel shook his head, "I first thought about going home after I'd been away for a year. By that time, another boy from my hometown was already able to compete in tournaments. His name was Mark and he started about the same time as me."

"Go on," Tesla encouraged.

"Back then…we were…I guess you'd call us rivals. But, I was never as good as him. Not even close," Lionel smiled to himself, but it faded quickly, "now, I don't even think he remembers me. He kept going, too. Went to other regions, fought in other tournaments. I kept hearing about him. He was far from being the best in the world, but he made our town proud."

"How did that affect you?"

"Well…it made me disappointed in myself," Lionel confessed, "why couldn't I do what he could? I was from the same town and my dad was a great trainer. So, why him and not me?"

Lionel paused and gathered his thoughts.

"A few weeks later," he continued, "was when I first heard about this trainer named PureBlueSky. A guy who didn't fight in normal tournaments, but fought in some sort of underground network with trainers that used human Pokémon."

"Ahh…" Tesla nodded.

"Somebody told me that Team Galactic had connections with this 'underground network.' But, by then, they were already gone. So, I spent the last of my money and went to Unova to find out more about Team Plasma. A lot of people from Galactic ended up there, so, I figured it would be a good start."

"You became a Pokémon thief," Tesla nodded his understanding. The path to becoming a Rocket or a Plasma grunt was an easy one to fall into. Failed trainers, like Lionel, that couldn't or wouldn't return home fell into this trap. They could stay there for years, surviving off the strength of better, more experienced, and more sinister trainers. Desperate times led to desperate measures in far too many cases.

Worse still, Pokémon crime syndicates were much more difficult to bring to justice. They were just as secretive and dangerous as any other form of organized crime. But they also had Pokémon to use as weapons.

The only upside was that they often grew too ambitious. Each one gathered its strength in secret and operated with great success until they left the shadows and began attacking openly. After that, they were always defeated. Often by a traveling trainer who shattered their ambitions by defeating their biggest advantage: their Pokémon.

That was the fatal flaw in such Pokémon crime syndicates. They placed too much pride and power in their Pokémon. Defeating them in a Pokémon battle was the same as defeating a lesser group in a street shoot-out. How could they call themselves superior if their best weapon could be thwarted by children?

But with every defeat, there were members still too desperate to stop. Another strong, ambitious trainer would take charge, unite the shattered group, move to a new region and try again. The cycle would repeat and no one knew how to stop it for good.

Tesla didn't have any answers to those problems. He knew how it started, but not how to end it. It made his heart sick to think about how easily young trainers like Lionel could fall victim to such a system. They didn't know what they were signing up for. And by the time they did, it was too late for them to do anything about it.

"I was there for another year," Lionel continued his tale, "there's more kids there than what you'd think. The higher-ups keep us out of the main group and train us to become better thieves. If you keep your head down and blend in with everybody else, they don't send you on dangerous missions. I could've stayed there for a while, but…"

"But you were looking for human Pokémon," Tesla finished for him.

"Right," Lionel agreed, "I kept asking if they knew anything about PureBlueSky or human Pokémon. It was really just a matter of time before Team Deus found me."

"You were recruited?" Tesla asked him.

"Yeah," Lionel nodded, "by some guy named Frederic Pole. I guess since they knew who my dad was; they figured I'd do a pretty good job. But, so far…I'm not exactly what they were hoping for."

"Anyway," Lionel went on, "I joined up about two months ago. Not long after I started, some agents in Johto reported seeing a human Leafeon with a sixteen-year-old boy."

"Your old friend?" Tesla asked.

"Bingo," Lionel nodded, "so, I volunteered and started chasing after them. You see, Eevees are really useful, for us. So, I decided I could use Mark to get closer to Maple."

"But something went wrong," Tesla prodded.

"As bad as it could," Lionel sighed, "Mark and a bunch of his friends followed me back to the base…now, if I screw up one more time, they'll probably kill me."

"Hmm…" Tesla stopped his questioning and thought.

Lionel was no criminal. He had failed his mission because of it. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but he saw no other options. If he had run and stayed with his friend, he wouldn't be in such a terrible predicament. But he had gambled everything and lost. He lost the Leafeon, lost his friend and lost his chance to prove himself to Team Deus all at once.

The boy didn't belong here, but he no longer had the option of leaving. There was no place for him to go and he knew too much for Team Deus to let him live. He was trapped. And now they were trying to trap Tesla along with him.

Just like Lionel, Tesla had nowhere to go if he escaped. Rob was dead and Tesla might as well have died along with him. That strange man, Cal, was giving him a choice: help this sad, foolish boy or go back to his cell. If it were anyone else, Tesla would've taken the cell. But, this boy…

"My trainer was like you," Tesla began his own tale, "he was no criminal, but he wasn't a great trainer, either. He waited until he was fifteen before starting, but it didn't make any difference. He earned four badges and still quit. It's common and there's nothing wrong with it."

Lionel nodded. He understood what Tesla was saying. Still, quitting never felt like an option.

"So, he stopped," Tesla went on, "he did what most trainers do. He went home and released all of his Pokémon back into the wild."

Again, Lionel nodded. Many believed that this was another reason for the symbiotic relationship between humans and Pokémon. Most trainers did not keep their Pokémon for life. They released them back into the wild, stronger than what they had been. No one could say for sure what happened to them next, but a Pokémon that spent time with a human trainer would easily be the strongest in the community. It was easy to believe it benefitted all of the Pokémon in the area. Some even speculated it benefitted the entire ecosystem.

"That is," Tesla continued, "he released all of his Pokémon, except for me. I was his strongest and his favorite, so I stayed. He grew up and left home when he was ready, but he didn't train any Pokémon, except for me."

Tesla was pleased to see that Lionel was growing accustomed to looking at his eyes.

"When I evolved into a human, he wasn't afraid of these," he blinked for emphasis, "or these," he looked down at his spider-limbs, "he wasn't a great trainer, but he was a good person…and I killed him."

Lionel drew in a sharp breath at hearing those words.

"It was an accident," Tesla shook his head, "he was the best trainer I could hope for, and I failed him. And now, just like you, I'm trapped where I don't want to be."

"I…I'm sorry," Lionel told him.

"It can't be helped," Tesla sighed heavily. He didn't believe the words, though. Rob's death would stay with him for the rest of his life. He could not replace the trainer whose life he took. "But…we have no choice. We'll have to play their game, for now."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll help you," Tesla nodded, "you seem to need it. Much more than what I do."

"Uhh…umm…" the flood of relief that slammed into Lionel left him speechless. Just like that, he had a powerful ally. They were still under the thumb of Team Deus and Cal, but…could they actually have a shot if they worked together?

"Thank me later," Tesla waved him down, "I overheard something about a battle tonight?"

"Oh, right!" Lionel perked up, "Cal wants to fight the base commander tonight. His name's Farin. Don't worry, he deserves it. He's…insane."

"The base commander?" Tesla asked, "We're fighting someone in Team Deus?"

"Uhh, yeah…" Lionel bit his lip, "Cal won't really tell me what's going on…"

"Alright," Tesla conceded. It was an odd and very important development, but if Lionel knew anything, he would've said so. "I guess we'll worry about the details later. Just point me in the right direction. I'll see if I can get the both of us out of this prison."

* * *

><p>AN: three months. Three months of working at least 60 to 65 hours a week. Son. Of. A. Bitch.<p>

Anyways, I have returned to what should be a normal schedule again. So, posts should start coming on a weekly basis again (HUZZAH!)

Day 6 is going to start moving faster, too (it's needed to be over for a long time now). Most things that needed to happen, happened early. The biggest thing left is Cal's forces vs. Farin. That'll be within just two or three more chapters, but since everything's been chronological, we'll check back in with Mark and Maple first next week.

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and messages while I was gone! I missed you guys.

Thanks for reading!


	78. The Calm Before a Storm

Chapter 76

Cherry sat alone on the corner of her bed. She looked back and forth, from Mark to Maple, back to Mark, back to Maple. They weren't saying anything. The tension hanging in the room was so bad she was afraid to breathe too loudly.

This should be the part where they told each other what had happened. Cherry herself wanted to hear where Maple had been all day. She hadn't been with Kim, but whoever Quickstep was, he must have been somebody cool and important to make Maple want to go with him.

He couldn't have been a bad person either. Maple came back and had found both of them right when they came to look for her. So, why were they fighting? Something was happening that Cherry didn't understand. That seemed to be happening a lot and she didn't like it.

Around half an hour after they came back, Mark let his other Pokémon out of their Pokéballs. Volcano, Tanker, Jitter and Eclipse sat in a small circle as they happily ate their Pokémon food.

Mark had spent very little time with his Pokémon since coming to Himitsu Island. Aside from making sure they ate and drank, they didn't require much attention. Still, it felt rather neglectful to leave them alone all the time. After the match against Tristan, he had all but forgotten what they had done for him. Five of his Pokémon had struggled to take down a single human Pokémon. They deserved better than being left alone inside their Pokéballs.

As they ate, Maple knelt down in between her brothers, Jitter and Eclipse. At first, they paid little attention to her and continued eating. She began scratching Jitter behind his ears, but the Jolteon still ignored her. Eclipse, on the other hand, took notice of his brother's neglect and rubbed against his sister's human leg.

"Huh?" Maple started, in surprise. She looked over at the Umbreon and reached out her hand, tentatively. Eclipse closed his eyes and pressed his head against her palm, seeking attention. Maple gladly stroked his back. He still remembered who she was. Still remembered the bond they shared.

Mark watched the human and regular Pokémon. The whole thing confused and fascinated him. What was the difference between them? Could the regular Pokémon evolve into a person at any moment? If they could, why didn't they? Was living in a Pokéball and eating what looked all too much like pet food really a good life? After spending so much time surrounded by human Pokémon, he wondered if normal Pokémon would ever look the same again. It made his head hurt to think about it.

If nothing else, life as a Pokémon was much simpler than being a human. For the past few days, Mark had spent most of his time worrying. There was little time to relax and even less to have fun. Peaceful moments like this simply didn't happen.

Six days. Six days had passed since coming to Himitsu Island and Mark rarely stopped to enjoy it.

There were no tournament battles that day. The entire island was taking a break, except for him. The morning had passed training Cherry, and Aurum had brushed them off. Maybe he should just take the rest of the day off, as well.

As the others finished eating, Eclipse continued to bask in Maple's undivided attention. His movements and behavior were all very cat-like as he rubbed against his sister and let her pet his back. Mark recalled the rest of his Pokémon before turning back to Maple and Eclipse.

"Doesn't that seem…weird, to you?" he couldn't help but ask.

"What does?" Maple asked. She looked up at him as she scratched behind Eclipse's left ear.

"Uh, _petting_ your _brother_," Mark shrugged, "that's not weird, to you?"

"No…" Maple tilted her head, slightly. She didn't understand the question.

"Never mind," he sighed. There was no way to make the question plainer. Maple and Eclipse looked very different from each other, but Mark couldn't seem to get beyond the fact that the Umbreon was the Leafeon-girl's brother. He couldn't explain how he felt. Maybe he really never would look at Pokémon the same anymore.

Unaware of his turmoil, Maple turned back to Eclipse. The Umbreon began licking her hand, very affectionately.

Mark had no idea what to do. The gap between Maple and himself kept growing. He needed to do something soon. If he didn't, how could she trust him at all? There was still a lot he wanted to ask her, but he didn't know how to start.

He noticed the small, tattered bouquet of flowers Maple had brought with her. Where did she get them? He hadn't seen wildflowers like those anywhere on the island. Edging around Maple and Eclipse, he scooped the flowers off of the bed. Cherry looked small and frightened in the corner. That only made him feel worse.

He rummaged through his bag, but the best thing he could find was a metal canteen. He couldn't quite fit all of the flowers inside without further mashing them together. He had no choice but to remove a few that had lost a lot of petals. Using water from the bathroom sink, he filled the canteen and set the makeshift flower vase on top of the table between the beds.

"They're pretty, you know," Mark said as he sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Thanks," Maple said, without looking up. It might have been Mark's imagination, but he could've sworn that there was hatred in Eclipse's eyes whenever the Umbreon looked at him. The red color reminded him of whenever Maple used that strange Red State. It was unsettling, at the very least.

"Where did you get them?" he asked, trying to ignore Eclipse's steady glare.

"From the Meadow Sisters," Maple answered. This time, she turned to look at him. "I thought we were going to see RiverofTears, but Quickstep took me to see her human Pokémon instead."

"You met her human Pokémon?" Mark asked, "All of them?" Surprisingly, talking became easier as they went. He could only guess that Maple was just as eager as he was to avoid another fight. It was a small favor, but he needed the break.

"Well…most of them," Maple answered, "there was Teardrop, Briar, Pixie and Cashmere. Oh, I also met Astral. He's with EdgeoftheEarth."

"That many?" Mark asked. Meeting so many powerful human Pokémon in one morning was rather impressive.

"Yep!" Maple chirped, happily, "oh…but, nobody wants to help us…" Her ears drooped as she looked at the floor. She continued stroking Eclipse, taking comfort in her brother's presence.

"Help us?"

"Well…I thought you said we needed somebody from the Four to help us…" Maple nervously bit her lip, "so…I wanted to, you know, ask them for help…"

"Wait…Maple…is that why you went off by yourself?"

"Please don't be mad…" Maple shook her head.

"I'm not mad," it wasn't a lie, but he couldn't say it was the whole truth either, "I was just worried." It was impossible not to be.

He sighed aloud and picked his next words carefully, "I need to talk to you."

"What is it?" Maple asked. Something about the way he said it made her heart race.

Could this be it? He said that he had been worried about her. That was good, right? If he was worried, that meant he still cared. Despite everything else, he still cared about her feelings. Why else would he get so upset?

But Mark didn't answer for a long time.

He looked at the girl sitting on the floor, in front of him. She sat there with her long, leaf-shaped ears and tail. She was petting an Umbreon that was also her brother. The two were so different and so similar at the same time. And all Mark could think about was how she was a normal Leafeon just a few weeks ago. He was never quite sure how big the difference was between the human girl and the Pokémon she had been.

Kim had told him to be honest with Maple, but how could he? He didn't know the answer himself. Would he ever know? Trying to think it through wasn't getting him anywhere either. All it did was lengthen everything.

That was the worst of it. Whether the answer was "yes" or "no", thinking about it was just wasting time. He needed to act.

Yet, when faced with the moment, he still couldn't do it. If he told her no, it would crush her. The whole reason she evolved into a human would be for nothing. But if he told her yes and was wrong, then giving her what she wanted could hurt her even worse. Living a lie like that would hurt both of them and turn what should be happiness into hatred.

He couldn't risk something like that. He had to be sure.

"We're not going to fight Team Deus, anymore," Mark told her. There was a slight sparkle to Maple's eyes that faded as he said those words. He didn't notice it had been there until it was gone.

"Oh…" Maple turned her attention back to Eclipse. Once again, his red eyes seemed to narrow at Mark. "Why not?"

"We're losing too many people," Mark admitted, "Eric, Lily, everyone," he left out Kim, "no one wants to fight. And there's too many of them for us to do it alone."

"But…the Meadow Sisters…" Maple reminded him, "They said that PureBlueSky might help…"

"Wait…" Mark realized he had missed something, "did you meet PureBlueSky?"

"Uh-huh," Maple nodded, "just for a little bit, though. He's not very nice."

"What happened?"

Mark listened calmly and patiently as Maple related how she had met Quickstep and PureBlueSky. Though Mark wasn't convinced that Quickstep was trustworthy, anyone that had connections to PureBlueSky was worth knowing about. Any information about them at all would be worth having.

However, he was just as disappointed as Maple by PureBlueSky's refusal to help them. It wasn't just Mark and his friends, but everyone on the island was in danger with Team Deus beneath their feet. Yet no one did anything.

"Briar said something strange, though," Maple continued, "I think…I think PureBlueSky likes RiverofTears…"

"Huh?"

"Well…" Maple wasn't sure how to put it. When she thought about what Briar had said, it sounded a lot like her and Mark. But that didn't make much sense. How could the most powerful trainers in the world still have the same problems?

"She said he needs to 'confess his feelings,'" Maple said, "but she doesn't think he'll do it."

Mark stared at her, puzzling over the bizarre message. PureBlueSky couldn't talk to girls? Did he hear that right? To be fair, Mark was having trouble doing exactly that, but…PureBlueSky? The returning champion had such a mundane…teenage problem? And _that_ was preventing him from fighting against Team Deus?

For some reason, he didn't feel so stupid anymore.

"Well, okay…" Mark shrugged. One more reason to forget about Team Deus. At this point, the best he could hope for was to just keep Maple and Cherry safe. They were his responsibility. Everyone else was just going to have to worry about everyone else.

The mix of relief and regret was the most bittersweet feeling he ever experienced.

"I guess it can't be helped," Mark gave in, "we'll just have to worry about each other." He looked from Maple to Cherry. "But I want both of you to stay close by. We'll have to protect each other first and worry about the others second."

"We're not going to fight?" Cherry had finally mustered the courage to speak. The tension in the air was gone, but she was afraid it might come back at any moment.

"I'm sorry," Mark apologized to the small Charmander-girl.

"It's okay," Cherry nodded, "we tried, right?"

"Yeah…" Mark nodded, "we did."

"So, what now?" Maple asked.

"Well, let's see…" along with the tournament bracket, Mark had received several other papers when he had registered for the tournament. The small stack had been left utterly forgotten on the hotel desk. Now was as good a time as any. He picked it up and started flipping through the pages.

"What are you doing?" Cherry asked. Mark remembered that neither of them could read. They had no idea what he had just picked up.

"Well, today is an off day for the tournament," Mark explained, "there's no battles going on, but there are other events scheduled…"

"Other events?" Cherry peered at him as though he had gone insane, "what are you talking about?"

"We need a break," Mark told the human Pokémon-girls, "we've been fighting and training non-stop and worrying about too much at once. Let's take the day off. Relax, explore, have fun, that sort of thing."

The two girls blinked in astonishment and turned to look at each other. Did Mark really just say that? No battles? No training? They smiled at each other as they realized it was true.

Maple reached Mark first, knocking him back onto the bed as she hugged him. Cherry was right behind her.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" the girls cheered.

* * *

><p>Whisper ground his teeth in impatience. There was nothing more boring than guard duty.<p>

He had been watching over Fate all morning and it had earned them nothing. The Gardevoir-woman had flipped out and stopped whatever the hell it was she was doing once or twice, but otherwise the morning was completely uneventful.

The afternoon was just more of the same. She didn't even flip out anymore. She just sat there; calm and quiet. How could she stand it? Whisper just wanted to kill something already.

"Hey, how much longer-" he started to ask.

"Shh!" Fate cut him off.

It was the fifth time he tried to ask what was going on. She told him nothing. She didn't even explain those little episodes of hers. For all he knew, the Meganium-girl they were supposed to be hunting had gotten away and now Fate was just stalling for time while she came up with an excuse.

Whisper started to indulge himself with thoughts of killing the delicately built Gardevoir-woman. She was a psychic-type, so she would pose no threat against his dark-type. He could take his time and enjoy it. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't scream, but he could do without that. If he killed her and ran, he'd have a good head-start before-

"They're leaving," Fate fluidly rose to her feet. Her eyes stayed closed, but her voice was almost excited.

"What?"

"They're leaving Palkia's Woods," Fate answered, "we can intercept them once they clear the trees. We have to move."

"What?! Seriously?!" the waiting had gone on so long that Whisper had become convinced it wouldn't end.

"Yes, Whisper," Fate repeated, "you'll get your chance to kill them both. Now follow-"

"You'll do no such thing," a cold voice came from behind them.

Whisper turned to see Cal coming up to meet them. There was an uncharacteristic urgency to his steps. It was also odd that Cal had come by himself, rather than sending the little blond-boy. Whisper began to wonder what was happening back at the base.

"Master…" Fate let go of her psychic link to Aroma as she knelt before her trainer. She kept her head down and folded her hands over her chest in a gesture of complete submission. "I'm sorry, master. I didn't notice your approach."

"You were doing what I asked, Fate. You don't need to apologize," though his words were gentle, Cal's tone was strictly business, "something's come up. I need both of you, immediately."

"Immediately?" Fate looked up just enough to see Cal's face. Her trainer was never this upset. Something was very wrong.

"I'll explain on the way," Cal turned, expecting both of them to follow, "we need to gather Lionel first and then we'll be ready."

"What the hell do we need the brat for?" Whisper interjected.

Cal stopped, mentally weighing how much time he really had. When he made up his mind, he turned back to face Whisper.

"I need you to help me defeat Farin," he told them, "he's gone insane and plans on attacking the entire island."

"I'm not hearing anything I don't like," Whisper grinned. Attacking the whole island was the best plan he had heard in years.

"He's going to expose us all to a counterattack," Cal went on, "one that will likely wipe us out. If we don't stop him, then Team Deus is finished. It might take weeks, months or years, but I assure you we're not ready for a war."

"Yeah, I still haven't heard the part where I give a damn," Whisper shook his head.

"He has a full team of six warped human Pokémon," Cal explained, "they're mindless, destructive monsters and it will take all of our combined forces to even think to challenge him."

"A challenge, huh?" Whisper nodded this time, "getting better, but still no sale."

"They're also completely disposable," Cal spoke the only thing Whisper needed to hear, "I _encourage_ you to kill them. Any permanent losses will help dissuade him from attacking. And, if we fail, Farin won't hold those deaths against you."

"Heheheh," Whisper chuckled, "ahh…you're good at this. I could stand to get a kill or three."

"As long as you fight, it makes no difference to me," Cal brushed aside his comments. If nothing else, Whisper was predictable. Everything began and ended with battle and, more importantly, killing. The human Zoroark would never agree to having a trainer again, but Cal could still control him.

"Umm…master?" Fate spoke up.

"What is it, Fate?"

"What about the Meganium-girl?" she asked.

"We have to let her go, for now," Cal shrugged, "Farin needs to be dealt with, first."

"Of course," Fate rose to her feet to follow her trainer. She resigned herself to let Aroma go, for now. The girl's death would be a nice, unexpected present for Cal. That would certainly bring Fate joy.

She began to wonder if there might be a way through Palkia's Woods.

* * *

><p>AN: I gotta say, I'm just as eager as Whisper to write another battle. It's been waaaaay too long.<p>

Anyways, I don't think there's anything special to talk about this week. So…cya next time.

Thanks for reading!


	79. Cal's Rebellion

Chapter 77

_Whisper, Tesla, Fate_, Cal rethought his strategy for battling Farin as he walked the halls of the base, _dark, bug and electric, and psychic. Three against six_.

The odds were not in his favor, but it was the best he could gather. Each of the human Pokémon under his command would be stronger than Farin's twisted monsters, but it was the number of opponents he faced that would prove to be the real challenge of this battle. Farin commanded a full team of six and Cal only knew what half of them were.

Farin's Mightyena, Dusknoir and Crobat were opponents that he could plan for. Each member of his forces had a distinct advantage over at least one of them. Tesla, in particular, could make excellent use of his dual-typing and might even be capable of defeating all three of them.

Since their arrival, Cal knew of two battles that Farin had fought: once against the group that had invaded the base and a second time in the tournament above-ground. Both times he had led with the Mightyena and the Crobat. Cal suspected that Farin didn't even strategize against his opponents. He consistently relied on brute force and his unwavering confidence in his abominations to win his battles. There was no reason to think he would do anything different this time.

That would be Cal's advantage. If Farin did as he predicted it would be easy to exploit his weaknesses. Battles were not fought with brute strength. They were fought with skill and cunning. Cal would soon prove that to Farin. One, simple victory and Cal would command the entire base. From there he could correct Farin's mistakes and put him on trial to answer for what he had done.

Cal strode through the halls, building his confidence, with Fate and Whisper close behind. Fate was silent and obedient, as always, while Whisper whistled aloud, eager for another chance to kill an opponent. That was good. They were both ready. He just needed Lionel and Tesla now.

He made his way past the laboratories and up the stairs to the higher-level offices. Briefly, he considered stopping in the basement. The twisted creatures down there would be easy to control and could help round out his forces. But that would be wrong. Cal wanted to prove that Farin's beasts were inferior to true human Pokémon. Appearing with creatures that were even more beast-like would be the exact opposite.

Instead, he made his way back to his own office, where Lionel and Tesla waited.

He paused outside the door when he heard the conversation on the other side.

"-nowhere you can go?" he recognized Tesla's voice.

"They'd find me if I gave up and went home," Lionel's voice was faint, but Cal could make it out, "and I can't protect my family from these people."

"And your friend…Mark?"

"He said we aren't friends…if we ever were. No, they hate me, now."

"Alright…" Tesla was quiet for a moment, "I suppose, if we ran, I could buy you some time if we split up. They'll chase after me first and I'd be easier to find."

That was interesting.

The two were talking about escaping. They were going to dissert Team Deus and run for their lives. But Cal knew they couldn't. Just as they said, there was nowhere to run and wherever they hid, Team Deus would find them.

Cal smiled to himself. That was certainly information worth having. It told him that they were willing to work together. He could also easily control them both if he knew what they wanted. He would have to consider how best to use that later. For now, their willingness to fight Farin was all he needed.

He opened the door, and pretended not to care about the conversation he was interrupting. He stared down Lionel, who shifted uncomfortably in place. Cal also decided to never trust the boy with an important secret.

"Is he ready?" he nodded towards the human-Galvantula. Tesla was the stronger of the two, but Cal selectively ignored that fact. The more he pretended not to know, the more he could use against them when he needed it.

"Uh, yeah," Lionel nodded, "he's ready."

Cal looked over at Tesla. The human Galvantula's, solid blue eyes narrowed at him. Cal defiantly stared back, unaffected by Tesla's deformities. He had seen much worse than that.

"Alright," Cal nodded his approval, "follow us, then. We're ready."

"Wait, now?!" Lionel gasped.

"Yes, now," Cal rolled his eyes. It was unsettling that the most important piece of his strategy was under the control of this useless boy. "By now Farin will be finishing up his little tournament in the cafeteria. We beat him now, in front of the entire base, they won't even think about following him anymore."

"Well, okay…" Lionel stood up a little straighter. With the boy in tow, Cal turned and left.

Ready or not, this could be Cal's only chance. If he claimed a victory against Farin, then everyone in the base would follow him. If he failed…there was no telling what Farin might do.

_Tesla first_, Cal went over his strategy one last time as he led his small group down the halls, _if he's as strong as they say, he'll get at least two_.

He could win. He knew he could. The Mightyena, Crobat and Dusknoir would be easy enough to defeat. But it was those three others that made him uneasy. They could be anything. And there was no telling how strong they were.

Cal heard Farin before he saw him.

"Congratulations to both of you!" Farin was standing on the far right of the cafeteria, his arms spread wide as he addressed the two champions of his small tournament, "you have both fought with skill and determination and will each have direct authority over one-half of the attacking forces! Good luck to you both as the fated day approaches!"

"You mean the fated day when you doom us all?!" Cal called out as he stepped forward into the auditorium-sized cafeteria. Though normally packed with tables and chairs, the room had been cleared to make room for the battles.

"Ah, Cal, so nice of you to join us," Farin immediately stopped paying any attention to his new commanders. That was Cal's first warning sign.

"And I see that you've brought troops of your own," Farin paused to look over Cal's companions, "one would've hoped for better, but a growing army will always welcome volunteers."

"We're not joining your army, Farin," Cal shot back, "this whole plan is insane and you know it is!"

"Is that so?" Farin kept his head down as he began to walk towards the rest of the agents, along the back wall, "perhaps you should ask your fellows if they agree with you." The Pokémon thieves turned soldiers began to whisper to each other. Cal still commanded some respect, but Farin was offering them the chance to be greater than petty thieves and kidnappers. They were torn between the two options, but Cal was clearly losing ground.

"Farin," Cal took a deep breath before beginning, "it takes more than just power to win in a Pokémon battle. Skill, strategy and the intelligence to back it up are far more important. You've seen true human Pokémon battle. They're far more intelligent than those…things, you fight with. Without that intelligence, we're just throwing useless brutes at our enemies. We'll be slaughtered."

He paused, looking around at the men and women he worked beside. Was he reaching any of them?

Cal glanced over at Lionel. The boy was a bit shaken, but his eyes looked determined enough. He would be first. Cal motioned for him to step forward. The boy moved up to the center of the room. The only thing between the boy and Farin was Tesla.

"Farin," Cal concluded his challenge, "we will show you just how insane your ideas are. Team Deus is not ready to start a war! We challenge you to a Pokémon battle for the right to lead this station!"

When Cal was finished, Farin's smile grew wider. That was the second warning Cal had been given. There wasn't a third until it was too late.

"Cal, my dear boy," Farin shook his head and sighed heavily, "I have been far too lenient with you. You question my judgment and undermine my authority right in front of my own troops." He waved back to them. "I suppose that there's no other option but to make an example of you."

That was when Cal realized the truth. His challenge had been expected, even welcomed. If Cal's group lost, then Farin's authority was guaranteed. His soldiers would obey him without question. Farin wanted this battle just as much as Cal did.

But he never anticipated what Farin did next.

"It's a shame, too," Farin went on, "you're a good hunter and quite skilled in battle. But…you must understand," he reached into the pockets of his suit. When he drew his hands back out, each one held three Pokéballs. "We are not going to fight Pokémon battles in this war."

Farin tossed all six of his Pokéballs onto the ground in front of him. With a bright flash, his entire team stood shoulder to shoulder no more than fifty feet away from Tesla. The Mightyena, Crobat and Dusknoir were there, but along with them were a Drapion, a Crawdaunt, and a Toxicroak.

Similar to Tesla, the twisted human Drapion had its own deformities. Several of its teeth were too big for its mouth and a total of four gleaming claws extended from the knuckle of the thumb and pinky finger of each hand. A segmented, scorpion-like tail thrashed behind it and the Drapion's extra limbs were now spiked extensions protruding from his elbows.

The Crawdaunt's hands were difficult to see underneath the large, lobster-claws that encased them. Another set of claws hung on the underside of its forearms. His legs were short and rather stubby and the lobster-tail seemed to hinder his movements even further. A pair of beady eyes with more menace than intelligence surveyed its opponents beneath a star-shaped emblem on its forehead.

Of the three, the Toxicroak appeared to be the least animal-like. However, when Cal looked closely, he could tell there was purple webbing stretching between his fingers. It looked out with a Toxicroak's characteristic sneer.

"Kill them," Farin ordered matter-of-factly.

What followed was over in moments. It wasn't a Pokémon battle. It was chaos.

Whisper was the first to move. Eager to face so many opponents at once, he shot forward with his Suckerpunch and knocked the human Crobat from the air. He did it so quickly that most of Farin's forces took no notice at all.

Fate was rushing forward to lend support to Tesla, but she was too slow. The human Toxicroak appeared in her path and punched her cheek as it finished its own SuckerPunch. Her head twisted to the side and a spattering of blood hit the floor. A moment later, the Dusknoir appeared next to her and knocked her back in the other direction as it completed its Shadow Sneak.

Gasping for breath and her mouth filled with blood, Fate dropped to one knee. She had no choice but to abandon Tesla to whatever it was he was facing in the center of the room. She concentrated her psychic abilities and extended an open palm at the Toxicroak. There were no visual cues to accompany her Psychic attack, but the result was immediate and devastating. The Toxicroak's eyes widened and then glazed over as he struggled to keep his balance. Tiny rivers of blood flowed from both of his nostrils. A split second later, he pitched forward and collapsed in front of Fate.

But her wounds were already too much for the fragile psychic-type. Fearing that she might never find her opportunity to kill Aroma on Cal's behalf, she had no choice but to let her eyes close and fall unconscious on the floor.

As Fate was being brought to her knees, Tesla struggled to stay on his feet and protect Lionel at the same time. The Mightyena, Crawdaunt and Drapion all rushed him simultaneously. There was no way he could defeat them all. But he could certainly hurt them just as much as they would hurt him.

Tesla had no time to warn Lionel, he simply acted. He opened his mouth and let out a high-pitched cacophony of insect-like buzzing noises. The Crawdaunt and the Drapion each hesitated, but the true target was the Mightyena. Tesla focused his Bug Buzz at the twisted dog-like human Pokémon. Its furry hands, so close to being paws, came up and clutched his ears, trying in vain to shut the noise out. But there was no way to stop it and blood began to flow in between his fingers. He collapsed a moment later, leaving Tesla with two opponents.

The human Drapion reached him first. The claws extending from his knuckles began to ooze a thick, purple poison as it slashed at him. Tesla had no time to dodge as the attack raked across his chest, ripping his shirt and causing enough damage to draw a thin line of blood.

His head spinning from the pain, Tesla noticed the Crawdaunt raising its clawed fist in what must have been a Crabhammer. Unable to dodge, he realized that he wouldn't be able to survive another attack.

But the Crabhammer hit nothing but air as Tesla felt himself being pulled backwards, just beyond the reach of his opponent.

At the final moment, Lionel had grabbed his arm and hauled him backwards with as much strength as he could muster. It wasn't much, but Tesla had to stare at the boy, in shock, for a moment.

Cal gaped at the madness as his plan fell to pieces. Two of Farin's twisted creations were down, but so was Fate. Tesla was wounded and surrounded by enemies and Whisper was focused solely on his Crobat. There was already nothing he could do. They had lost.

Whisper cackled in sheer delight as he hit the human Crobat at his feet with a Night Daze. The thing screeched in pain and desperately beat its thin wings against his legs, but he would never let go of it. He had it pinned to the ground with one knee slammed into its stomach. If he let it get away and take to the air, it would be much harder to deal with. No, Whisper was quite happy with the amount of control he currently had.

But the Crobat would not give in so easily. At close range, it spat a thick glob of purple ooze straight at Whisper's chest. The Sludge Bomb exploded across Whisper, who grimaced against the pain, but kept his grip on the Crobat firm.

His face filled with rage as he looked down at the pathetic, twisted creature. It was time to put it out of its misery.

"I have had enough of you!" Whisper snarled. He planted his foot on the Crobat's chest. He grasped hold of each wing at the shoulder, right above where they connected into its back. They twitched quickly in his grasp, but the struggling was pointless.

Keeping the Crobat pinned to the ground with his left leg, Whisper stood up and pulled at the wings. At first, nothing happened, but Whisper continued to strain himself until he felt what he wanted. After another moment, there was a soft popping sound as the bones of each wing disconnected from the shoulder. Then, skin and sinew tore loose as the wings themselves began to tear off. Whisper tossed them aside as he claimed his first kill in far too long.

He didn't notice Farin smiling at his brutality.

_Two, just two_, Tesla thought for just a moment. But two became three as a blow to the head made him see stars for a split second. A Dusknoir had appeared to help its comrades.

"Lionel, get back," he ordered the boy behind him.

"What are you-?"

"Just do it!"

No matter what, Tesla would never let another human be hurt by his electricity.

His body began to spark and even make sizzling noises as he gathered the energy. The Crawdaunt and the Drapion hesitated, giving him the key moments he needed to get it ready. They would come together, so he could only get one. He aimed for the Crawdaunt.

When they leapt at him, Tesla released all of his electricity in a column of glowing bluish-yellow lightning. A thunderclap echoed throughout the room as Tesla's Thunder shot forward and lifted the Crawdaunt off of its feet. It rocketed straight across the room and slammed into the wall, before crumpling in a heap. Its body began to spasm, but unlike Whisper, Tesla had no wish to kill his opponent.

Two opponents had fallen to him. It was the best he could've hoped for in such a horrific battle. He hardly felt the claws of the human Drapion slash across his chest. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

"Dammit!" Whisper cursed when he turned to look behind him, "Do I have to do everything myself?" He studied the Drapion and the Dusknoir. Neither was hurt and both of them looked just as strong as the Crobat. The Dusknoir would be easy alone, but with the Drapion alongside it…

"Stop," Farin held up his hand as he looked at the devastation.

"What?" Cal called out, shocked by the command.

"I will give you this last chance, Cal," Farin spoke calmly, "you've lost. Stop now and I'll let you live. If not…none of you will leave this room."

"Hey!" Whisper yelled to be heard, "he doesn't control me! No one does! _He_ lost! _I_ didn't! We are not done!"

Farin considered the Zoroark. He had heard that Zoroark could shape-change, but this one hadn't. He thought that was rather curious. What was even more interesting was how he was willing to keep fighting to his inevitable death. Even more interesting than _that_ was how much he had enjoyed murdering the Crobat. This was the kind of soldier Farin wanted in his army.

"What is your name?" Farin ignored Cal and talked directly to the Zoroark.

"Whisper," he told him, "what of it?"

"Do you like being on the winning side, Whisper?" Farin asked him.

"Doesn't everyone?"

"Heheh, good answer…" Farin grinned deeply, "You see, I need strong, motivated soldiers, like yourself. It'd be a shame if I have to make an example of you, as well."

Whisper considered the offer. If he fought, he'd die for something he didn't care about. More than that, there was a long list of people he had promised revenge on that wouldn't get it. He was also about to join up with someone who was just as crazy as he was. He liked that idea.

"Alright," Whisper agreed, "I got the kill I was promised. Just don't try to put me back into a Pokéball. I belong to no one but myself."

"Very well," Farin nodded, "welcome aboard, Whisper." He recalled all of his human Pokémon; all but the body of the Crobat that now lay in a broken, bloody heap.

"Cal!" Farin called out. The defeated hunter jerked as he was called to attention. "Clean this up and get back to work. I hope you learned your lesson. War is not a Pokémon battle. I am not challenging them to a fair fight. In three days, I will unleash Hell upon that tournament!"

* * *

><p>AN: hmm…can't think of anything to add…<p>

oh, and sorry if i haven't been able to respond to messages and such. work may go nuts again soon, so, keep your fingers crossed. hopefully Day 6 will be over by the time the story's two-year anniversary comes around. yay.

Anyways, thanks for reading!


	80. A Concert for the Weary

Chapter 78

"No, no, no, not there!" Cara yelled at the human Machamp that was hauling the band's equipment, "the speaker's facing the wrong way!" She rubbed her forehead, wondering how somebody could make that mistake. The speakers face the crowd, not the band.

Cara was already planning out how she was going to spend the money they were making from this show. There were no tournament battles scheduled for the day. Alfred Silph had declared it as an off day. There was one at the start of each round that featured a special event. The outdoor performance of Serenade and the Triplets was one of those events, this year.

It had taken most of the afternoon to prepare their stage. For a large-scale outdoor concert, they needed more than the tiny platform Silph had given them the day of the opening ceremonies. The speakers and other pieces of electronic equipment needed more space, and thus, a bigger stage. As her band's manager, she decided to oversee the entire process.

While she stood outside, the sky turned darker and darker. So far, the rain had held off, but she was terrified that it would start pouring at any second. If she wasn't ready, all of the equipment could be ruined. The concert could be rescheduled, but replacing the band's equipment would not be easy or cheap.

She had to remind herself that she was almost done. Setting up was her job. The concert itself was up to Serenade and the Dugtrio-triplets. Once it started, she could fade into the crowd and try to enjoy herself.

This tournament was by far the biggest show the band had ever put on. For this one night, they could put on a real, live concert. After this, they would have to go back to tiny club showings, just to pay the bills. Cara promised herself to enjoy it while it lasted.

Though Cara had won her first match of the tournament, it meant little to her. The shows that the band put on were the real reason she was here. The tournament was just a diversion. It might even help to boost the band's popularity. If they did well in their matches, then they weren't _just_ a band. They were a band that could fight.

In truth, even though Cara had four human Pokémon, she wasn't much of a trainer anymore. After the triplets evolved and Serenade suddenly had a band to back up her solo career, things changed quickly for Cara.

Evolving into a form that had hands made the triplets restless with them. Cara gave them instruments mostly out of desperation, but all three took to the job incredibly fast. They practiced as often as possible, favoring practicing over battling and training. They could read music before they could read words.

After a month and a half, Cara realized that she hadn't fought a single Pokémon battle since before they evolved. She had a fair amount of winnings saved up, but it was dwindling quickly. She had to look after not only herself, but six other people that had never worked a day in their lives.

Lucky for them all, the triplets' obsession with their new hobbies made them unexpectedly good in a short time. Cara had never managed anything in her life, but she soon found herself doing the only thing that made sense. She never expected things to fall into place, like that. Life was a strange thing, sometimes.

Still, Pokémon training was nothing like managing a band and her new life was filled with all sorts of responsibilities and obligations. She had no choice but to release the rest of her Pokémon. It was the end of an important part of her life, but she had to move on. She had her hands full with her new life.

Of course, her Pokémon weren't Pokémon anymore. They were people. She wouldn't have to face her new life alone. She had friends to help her. They might not be famous, but the band was theirs. It was fun and it brought them closer together. She didn't really want anything more out of life.

"Come on, come on, put your back into it!"

Cara turned to see Sparks hefting a speaker that would've required at least two strapping human men to move it. Behind him, Ebony taunted and mocked his every action. Whenever she did this to Sparks, her voice seemed to take on the sound of a crow's cawing.

"I don't…see you…helping," Sparks grunted.

"Sparks, let the human Machamp do it," Cara sighed "I'd rather not break anything before the concert starts."

Ignoring his trainer, Sparks set the speaker down with a loud thud that made Cara wince.

"Does that mean I can break it once it's over?" Sparks half-sneered.

"Only if you don't like eating," Cara shot back.

"Fine…" the human Luxray grumbled as he shuffled off of the stage.

_Just a little bit longer_, Cara reminded herself.

As afternoon turned into dusk, the sky grew so dark; it was as if the sun had set a full hour before it was supposed to. Cara held out her palm, checking for rain, more and more often. Yet, the threatening clouds, that she could no longer see, held back.

It was officially night time when the stage was ready and Cara could finally relax a little and enjoy the results of her work. The square had been roped off since mid-afternoon, but it slowly filled with tournament-goers eager to hear the only human Pokémon band in existence.

Cara slipped behind the stage to check on her band. The triplets were busy tuning their instruments, while Serenade nervously paced. It was always strange how she could be so calm and poised everywhere she went yet be a nervous wreck before getting up on stage.

"Cara! Cara, sweetie!" she walked straight over to her trainer and hugged her, "Where have you been? I missed you so much!"

"Calm down," Cara smiled, well-adjusted to the routine, "you know how it is. It's like a battle. Once you start, everything you were worried about stops mattering. You do this all the time."

"I know! But never like this," she peered out at the growing crowd, "a crowd this big…it means we're famous, doesn't it?"

Cara could only shrug, "probably not." It was a big crowd, to be sure. Not to mention that their paycheck would be a very nice, very healthy thing to see. But, famous? That was asking for a little much.

"Really?" Serenade's purplish skin turned a shade or two lighter, "I'm this nervous and we're not even famous?"

"Look on the bright side," Cara smirked, "if you screw up, it doesn't really mean anything."

The nervous, but still elegant Jynx-woman stared at Cara, unsure of what to say or do.

"You'll do fine," Cara assured her, "you always do. As soon as they hear you sing, you'll have nothing to worry about."

"Okay…" Serenade took a deep breath. It didn't help. "At least stay until it's time to start…"

"Always."

* * *

><p>"Hmm…" Mark looked around the open Himitsu Island square. It was difficult to see through the crowd and getting close to the stage would be next to impossible. Even at normal times, the square was filled with people. But that was nothing compared to the concert. Nearly everyone on the island had shown up.<p>

Cherry edged nearer to him, peering out at the crowd.

"Do you think you'll be okay?" Mark asked, remembering her fear of crowds and small spaces. She didn't answer, so he went on. "Alright, stay close and we'll see if we can find a table or…something." He doubted their chances, but it was better than standing in the back.

Maple stayed close behind, her eyes looking everywhere as she soaked in the experience. Neither of the Pokémon girls had ever been to a concert and they jumped at the chance to see one.

Mark didn't really know what to expect since he had never heard of the band. He assumed it was some sort of underground group anyway since each member was a human Pokémon. Still, it was something to do.

His plan of walking around the island with the two girls had backfired. It felt far too much like his disastrous date with Maple just three days ago. It was maddening that he still couldn't make up his mind about Maple while she loved him so completely.

Trying to forget about Team Deus was proving to be pointless, as well. What if they planned to attack during the concert? People would panic and end up hurting each other in the confusion. He felt like he had no choice but to stand back and watch the world burn down around him.

However, the afternoon, and hopefully the concert, had not been a complete waste. Maple and Cherry were becoming closer all the time. Though Cherry had been bored while doing it, she happily told Maple how quickly she had defeated fifty Bidoof that morning and learned Flame Burst. At the same time, Cherry watched in wide-eyed fascination when Maple retold how she had Surfed across a river with Teardrop and Quickstep. They delighted in catching up with each other, like true sisters.

Mark envied them both. Their relationship came so easily. They were relaxed and comfortable with each other even though they just met. Mark had never made friends, like that. It always took time for him to really count on someone as a friend.

He supposed part of that came from his life as a Pokémon trainer. Alone on the road, he often didn't see people more than once, even when revisiting a town. Building a relationship with someone who was in your life for such a brief time was not something he could do. There was no point to it. He always knew that whoever he met would leave and he would be on his own again.

Cheers sounded throughout the square, making Mark look up.

Through the sea of people, he could just make out the band members coming on stage. His eyes widened as he recognized the human Jynx and Dugtrio triplets he had met earlier that day. _Small world_, he thought.

As they started to play, Mark focused on cutting a path through the crowd. Cherry still clung to him, but not with the death-like grip she usually used. She was getting better, but even Mark found the enormous crowd suffocating. He dreaded seeing Kim somewhere in that crowd. He would have to apologize to her sometime, just not tonight.

While he was thinking that, he missed someone else he knew pass by them, going in the opposite direction.

Instead, it was Maple who caught sight of Silver and Aroma, their hands locked together, weaving through the crowd. Her eyes lingered on them for a bit as she began to wonder where Lily was. If two of her human Pokémon were there, surely Lily would be as well. But neither Lily nor Shinobi were anywhere nearby. Realizing that she missed Lily and wanted to see her again, Maple decided she would point it out to Mark when she had the chance.

The longer they pushed through the crowd, the more pointless it seemed. Mark wondered if there were any chairs and tables left, at all. With a crowd this big, they had most likely been cleared away to make room for more people. He was about to give up entirely when another familiar face appeared through the crowd.

"Hey! I remember you!" Cara shouted through the crowd, "Having a good time?!"

"Uhh…sort of…" Mark shouted back.

"Huh?!"

"I said SORT OF!" Mark yelled.

Cara glanced down at Cherry and realized what the problem was.

"I know what you mean!" Cara shouted, "Follow me!"

Unexpectedly, the crowd parted for Cara much more easily than it did for Mark. He took full advantage of it, though, and followed as close as possible. In just a few minutes, she led them to the far end of the square, where a few tables were roped off. A hanging sign said that they were reserved for special guests. Most were empty, but a human Luxray and Honchkrow sat at one of them. They were bickering loudly, even with the concert blaring around them.

Cara lifted the rope up and allowed Mark, Cherry and Maple to pass underneath.

Cherry released Mark's leg as she relaxed and Mark breathed a sigh of relief.

"We won't be able to see them, from here!" Cara shouted, "But I think we can hear them just fine! We may have gone overboard!"

"This is great!" Mark shouted back, "Thanks a bunch!"

"No problem!" Cara answered. She started to settle back into her own seat, but she sat up again, as if forgetting something.

"Hey! I wanted to apologize for earlier!" It was hard to sound sorry while shouting, but Cara gave it a shot anyway. "I mean, I know _somebody_ should fight those guys! I just don't think that's us!"

"Why not?!" Mark had to ask. Who else was there?

Cara shrugged before answering. "I don't know! But we're just normal people!"

Mark nodded. That was certainly something he had to agree with. He had just started learning more about human Pokémon. He was still a stranger and a newcomer to everyone here. He wasn't even an especially skilled trainer, either. So, why think that it was his job to bring down a group as powerful as Team Deus? Now _that_ was stupid. Childish, even.

He looked at Maple and Cherry. Protecting them was the true reason he wanted to fight Team Deus. He had made new friends at this tournament, as well, and he wanted to protect them all. But now he knew that attacking would only put them in harm's way.

There was only one option left. Whenever Team Deus showed their faces again, he needed to be ready. He had no idea when that day would come, but he knew it would be soon. He couldn't explain it, but he had a sixth sense that told him something big was happening beneath their feet.

Sighing heavily, he leaned back in his chair. He knew worrying would accomplish nothing. Instead, he sat back and tried to think about nothing but the music. When he did, he started to realize just how beautiful it sounded.

* * *

><p>AN: back again. Still alive, still writing.<p>

I missed my two-year anniversary, though. Which sucks.

But, anyway…

I know that there's obviously going to be some severe pacing issues with Day 6 (I think there were about 10 chapters dedicated to just the morning and now just a handful spent on afternoon and evening) but, unfortunately, it's going to have to stay that way for a while. After nine months spent on ONE DAY I really, really, REALLY want to move on.

So…let's just get on with it and I'll try to fix it…sometime. Maybe when the whole monster is finished…which will be, like, six years from now…

So…yeah…I guess that's everything. I'll be back as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading!


	81. The Faces in the Crowd

Chapter 79

Much like the Jynx-woman who sang it, the music was smooth and elegant. It was an odd type of indie rock that Mark had never heard before. Though they played a variety of songs, their specialty was slow and relaxing. As the night went on, Mark occasionally closed his eyes, wondering if he might fall asleep in his chair. It wasn't a bad feeling, though. It was exactly what he needed.

But Maple was having a hard time focusing on the music. After seeing Silver and Aroma, she kept wondering where Lily might be. Ever since their mission to rescue Aroma; Maple had almost never seen the three of them together. And when they were together, they were so distant from each other they might as well be miles apart.

Lily might have Shinobi for company, but it was Silver and Aroma that she cared the most about. All of them should be together. But they never were. What could that mean?

After the fifth or sixth song, Maple leaned in to catch Mark's attention.

"Did you see Lily today?!" she shouted to be heard over the music.

"Uh…just for a little bit!" Mark shouted back, "why?!"

"Were Silver and Aroma with her?" she asked, dreading the answer. She was afraid that Lily was still heartbroken over Silver. As her friend, Maple decided that she should make sure Lily was getting better. If the three friends were all together, that would be an important sign.

"I don't think so," Mark shook his head. It disappointed Maple that he didn't seem to understand what the problem was. She would have to handle this by herself.

"Okay," Maple nodded before continuing, "I think I saw them earlier, in the crowd. Umm…would it be okay if I go talk to them?" It occurred to her that she never had to ask for Mark's permission before. She briefly wondered why she did it this time, but she was more concerned about Lily.

"I guess so…" Mark hesitated. He still worried how close Team Deus might be, but he decided the crowded concert should be safe enough. "Yeah, go ahead."

"Thank you!" Maple nodded enthusiastically before standing up to go.

The problem was; she didn't realize how hard it would be to find Silver and Aroma amidst the crowd. She had no idea what direction they may have gone and getting through the crowd was even harder by herself.

There was a stunning variety of human Pokémon mixed into the crowd. Part of her wanted to slow down and get a good look at each one of them, but the stifling crowd and the bright lights from the stage made it next to impossible.

At one point, Maple thought she had seen Silver, but as she got closer, she realized that the human Absol was a girl, not a boy. The young Absol-woman must have noticed the disappointed expression on her face because she yelled a greeting over the noise.

"Are you lost?" she asked.

"Umm…" Maple stumbled, "I'm looking for someone. Have you seen a human Absol? I mean…a boy human Absol."

The Absol-woman called to a boy who must have been her trainer. Maple couldn't hear what they were saying, but she assumed that the Absol-woman was asking about Silver. After a few moments, the boy pointed through the crowd off to Maple's left. Maple waved her thanks and set off through the crowd once more.

Thankfully, the boy's directions were sound and it only took a few more minutes of crowd-dodging before Maple came upon Silver and Aroma. The two were alone, standing back from the bulk of the crowd. Silver had his arms around Aroma's waist as they both faced the stage. They swayed gently back and forth as if dancing to the music.

For a moment, Maple stood frozen in place. The pair looked like they truly belonged together. They hadn't noticed her and even seemed to be lost in their own private world. The world could collapse around them and they would just keep dancing together. It was the most romantic moment Maple had ever witnessed.

Maple started to turn around and fade back into the crowd, but then she remembered why she had come. It was true; Lily and Shinobi were nowhere nearby. Where were they? Was this moment only possible because Lily was suffering? She needed to know.

Maple's approach was awkward and slow. She didn't want to intrude by calling out. Instead, she took slow, tentative steps while simultaneously peering at them. She hoped that one of them would look up and notice her, ending the strange moment. Aroma finally did when Maple was no more than two feet away.

"Oh, hello!" the Meganium-woman called out, making Silver look up as well, "I remember you! Maple, wasn't it?"

Maple nodded in confirmation as she shuffled around to stand in front of the couple. Now that she was here, she didn't know what to do. It was Aroma who spoke next.

"I'm sorry I never got the chance to thank you," she apologized, "It scares me to think what might've happened to Silvy if you hadn't been there." Aroma leaned back and smiled into Silver's face, who kissed her in return.

Maple shuffled awkwardly in front of the happy couple. She tried to look away, but didn't know what to look at.

Aroma had picked her words very oddly. For one, she had called Silver "Silvy," which Maple knew as Lily's pet name for Silver. Worse than that, Aroma said she was grateful that Maple had helped protect Silver, but hadn't mentioned Lily at all.

"Umm…I'm looking for Lily, actually," Maple had no choice but to interrupt their kiss, "have you seen her?"

The two parted lips and shook their heads at her. "Not since this morning," Silver answered, "why?"

"Nothing important," Maple answered, "I just wanted to see her and make sure she's doing alright."

"I'm sure she's fine," Silver's response did little to ease Maple's worries, "she's probably just up in the hotel room. She likes to spend a lot of time on her laptop."

Maple nodded, even more unsure of what to make of Silver's unconcerned answer. She didn't like the idea of Lily hiding away in her hotel room. It sounded too much like what she had heard about PureBlueSky. She didn't want Lily to shut herself away and hide.

"Well, thanks anyway," With nothing left to say to them, Maple had no choice but to leave Silver and Aroma.

"See you later," Silver called after her, "don't forget; we've got a battle coming up!"

"I know," Maple stopped and looked back, "I'm looking forward to it."

As she left the pair, she smiled to herself.

Lily was one of her best friends on the island and Silver and Aroma were hurting her. Neither of them seemed to realize it and they certainly weren't doing anything to make it up to her. They had forgotten about her and left her all alone.

Lily might not be able to fight back against them, but Maple could.

* * *

><p>Cherry watched Maple disappear into the sea of people and couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her new big sister.<p>

_What is wrong with me?_ She thought. They were just people. They wouldn't hurt her. And yet, every time she got near a bunch of them all together, she always panicked.

Mark had promised he would never leave her. It made him something solid to hold onto when she was scared. It was nice, but Cherry knew she couldn't keep doing it. She needed to be strong enough to go by herself.

Still…why did there have to be so many?

As she watched the crowd, she caught sight of two other human Pokémon children running around. A small Eevee-girl in a brown dress was ducking in between the legs of the other concert-goers while a Pachirisu-boy in shorts and sneakers zipped after her. The two of them were no older than Cherry, maybe even a few years younger.

Cherry had no idea what they were playing, but they each had huge smiles on their faces. Even though she couldn't hear them, they were giggling wildly as though whatever they were doing was the most fun they had ever had in their whole lives. The Charmander-girl wondered what it was like. She never had fun like that.

Whether it was because the Pachirisu-boy had seen her sad face or because he had seen an easy victim, he skidded to a halt when he caught sight of her. He was no more than eight or nine years old with a squirrel-like tail that was as big as the rest of his body. Still grinning widely, he ducked underneath the rope around the tables as he ran straight up to her. Lightly and quickly, he touched her knee with an open palm.

"You're It!" he yelled.

"Huh?!" Cherry yelled back, stunned by the suddenness of what had just happened.

"I said you're It!" the Pachirisu-boy said it with absolute conviction. "It" was a self-explanatory term. Fully convinced that he had explained the game as much as he needed to; the boy ducked under the rope and dashed back towards the crowd. He stopped for just a moment to make sure Cherry was following. When he realized she hadn't moved an inch, he walked back.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked.

Cherry looked from the boy out into the crowd; out into the sea of people that she could drown in. _Out there?_ She thought, dismally. She looked back at the shining, electric-blue eyes of the Pachirisu-boy. She shook her head in nervous fear.

"Why not?" the boy began to whine.

"Is something wrong, Cherry?" from behind them, Mark leaned forward to investigate.

"I'm It!" Cherry explained.

"It? Like Tag?"

"I don't know!" Cherry admitted, "But I'm It!"

"Uhh…" Mark studied the Pachirisu-boy before answering, "Well, you can go, if you want. Just don't leave the square."

"I CAN'T!" Cherry yelled at him.

"Ohh…" Mark nodded as he looked at the crowd. He looked back at the Pachirisu-boy, "Sorry, some other time."

"How come?" the boy peered at the most grown-up person present "is she not allowed to play with strangers? My trainer pretty much lets me do whatever. My name's Zap, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Zap," Mark nodded, "but that's not the problem."

"Then how come?" he looked back at Cherry who was eyeing the crowd warily, "wait…you're not _afraid_ are you?"

_Oh, no_, Mark thought. But it was already too late.

"You _are_!" Zap giggled maniacally at the discovery, "You're afraid of all the people!"

"Shut up!" Cherry yelled at him.

"Zap, leave her alone," Mark told the boy as sternly as he could. He had to be careful, though. The truth of the situation was that even though Mark was twice the size of the Pachirisu-boy, it would make no difference in a fight. The boy could easily beat him and he seemed to know it. Zap wasn't even remotely scared of him.

"Come on!" Zap sneered, "they're just people! Most of them can't even hurt us!"

"I said NO!" Cherry was close to tears.

"What's wrong with you?" Zap continued, "you're scared of nothing!"

"What are you doing, runt?" none of the three had noticed Sparks stand up and circle around the table. He towered over the small Pachirisu-boy, an intimidating figure that matched the weaker human Pokémon's electric type. The effect his presence had on Zap was astounding.

"Umm…who are you?" Zap's short ears and fluffy tail flattened as he looked up.

"A big boy that wants you to shut up and go away," Sparks growled at him.

For a moment, Zap didn't move. He stayed where he was, gauging the difference in strength between himself and the human Luxray. In the end, he decided not to and began walking away.

"Hey!" he stopped to taunt Cherry one final time, "if you're not too scared, meet us out here tomorrow morning! You're still It, you know!" After that, he disappeared into the crowd.

"Pissant," Sparks muttered.

"Hey, thanks," Mark called after him, "if you hadn't stepped in, I doubt that kid would've listened to me."

"It's no big deal," Sparks shook his head, "I hate bullies." He jerked a thumb in Ebony's direction. The Honchkrow-woman shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Well, thanks anyway," Mark said again before kneeling down with Cherry, "are you okay?"

The Charmander-girl clearly wasn't. Her head was down as she gritted her extra-sharp teeth. Her small fists shook and her tail flared more brightly than usual.

"Mark…" her voice was a snarl of anger, "I don't want to be a coward."

"You're not," Mark told her, "don't listen to him."

"He said he'll be here in the morning…"

"Yeah, he did."

"Can I fight him, then?" she looked up at Mark. Her green eyes were narrowed with anger.

Mark sighed and thought before answering.

What was the right answer here? She shouldn't be so quick to solve her problems by fighting. That much he knew. People would probably tell her all sorts of terrible things in her life. Her first instinct shouldn't be to attack and solve all of her problems with fighting.

On the other hand, Mark couldn't help but sympathize with her. Zap had mocked her with no provocation at all over something that Cherry could not control. The boy had no respect for either of them and did whatever he pleased. Perhaps such a boy needed to be taught a lesson. A battle would certainly help get the message across.

Mark couldn't be certain what the right thing to do was, but there were other, stranger things to consider. First of all, he knew now that Pokémon and human Pokémon alike both enjoyed and needed to battle. A fight between them did not have the kind of malice a fight between two normal people would have. It was also extremely unlikely that they would be permanently hurt by it. It was like settling a grudge with a sports game.

Cherry also needed to fight a true opponent. So far, most of her training had come from Aipom and Bidoof. She needed to fight a human Pokémon and this could be the best opportunity to do it.

If Mark was right, it could be the final trigger she would need to evolve into a Charmeleon.

"Sure," he told her, "we'll come back in the morning and wipe the floor with him."

Cherry smiled at that idea and flipped her tail a few times.

"But just this once," he added quickly, "you can't fight everybody."

"I know," Cherry nodded, "but I really don't like him."

"Me neither," Mark agreed.

There were only fifteen minutes left before the concert was over, when Mark felt the first droplets of rain.

"Dammit…" Cara swore close by, "c'mon, just a little bit longer…"

But the skies were deaf to her pleas. The rain grew steadier and after just another fifteen or twenty seconds, she had disappeared. She darted into the crowd, skillfully navigating the wall of people in an effort to reach the stage and salvage her livelihood.

"I think we'd better find Maple and get going," Mark told Cherry, "come on." He moved to take the small girl's hand, but she jerked away from him.

"I'll do it," Cherry told him, "I'll be fine."

"Alright," Mark nodded, "I'm here, if you need me."

To his surprise, Cherry did not grab onto him for support. She walked cautiously, but was resolutely determined to not rely on him. Thankfully, they did not have to go very far before Maple rejoined them.

As the band cut the concert short and bid their farewells, the rain began to grow steadier. It was a light rain that wasn't much more than a drizzle. It was the kind of rain that lasts for days.

Mark hoped he was wrong about that as he led his two Pokémon girls back to their hotel room. The sixth day of the tournament had been a long, unpleasant ordeal and all he could think about was that Round Two was just beginning. The battles would become closer together and get harder every step of the way. They had survived Round One, but the tournament was still only beginning.

* * *

><p>AN: back again.<p>

if you can't tell, i don't really claim to know enough about music to really describe in depth what Serenade and the Triplets play. it's a kind of mellow indie rock, but beyond that i trust you to use your imagination.

anyways, Day 6 is finally over! and there was much rejoicing!

seriously, though, i can't really tell what the deal was with Day 6 but it just refused to end. too many characters to cover, i guess. i dunno. well...the whole "weekly posting schedule" getting shot to hell might have had something to do with it too...

by the way, i was reading over the last chapter and noticed a pretty bad mistake, on my part. when Sparks asks if he can break one of the speakers, Cara originally said "Only if you like eating." which, of course, should have read "Only if you don't like eating." sorry if i confused anyone, that was a really bad spot to make a mistake like that. it completely ruins the joke (not that it was a real gut-buster to begin with, but it bothered me a lot). anyway, it's fixed now. (speaking of making mistakes that [hopefully] aren't a big deal...)

i seem to be developing that as a common mistake (the whole leaving a word out deal). i'm sure there's other times where i did that, but, sadly, that's one of those errors that spell-check skips over (because it's stupid) and i must apologize in advance if i miss something like that.

i'm tired.

so...

thanks for reading!

i'll be back as soon as i can for the start of Day 7!


	82. Best Friends Forever

Chapter 80

"Umm…it's kind of…uhh…ugly…"

Those were the first words that Rachel had ever said about Teardrop.

At twelve years old and eager to follow her grandfather towards becoming a great Pokémon trainer, a Feebas was not her idea of a good Pokémon to start with. It was not pretty or cute to look at. She was also well aware that Feebas was one of the weakest Pokémon known to exist.

As she crouched down on the riverbank, peering at the ugly fish swimming back and forth aimlessly, she wondered if her grandfather was teasing her. He had been a strong, well-respected Pokémon trainer. Was this really the best he could give her?

"Is that so?" he asked, "what if it thinks _you're_ ugly?"

Rachel thought about that for a moment, but couldn't quite understand what he was trying to tell her. She stayed quiet, hoping he would say something else.

"You don't like it?" her granddad asked.

She didn't want to hurt his feelings. He wasn't teasing her, he was serious. This was her first Pokémon. Again, she didn't answer, but stayed quiet, hoping that there was a catch.

"Rachel…" her granddad sighed. Gingerly, he sat down next to her, grunting as he strained his tired body. "What do you know about Feebas?"

"They're ugly and weak and hard to take care of," Rachel recited what she had heard many of the fishermen at the docks say about what would be her first Pokémon, "most people just throw them back when they catch them."

"Is that so?" her granddad repeated his question, "I suppose they do the same with Magikarp, then?"

"Mmm-hmm," Rachel nodded in confirmation.

"I see…" he said. He adjusted his hat as he looked up into the sky. "Rachel…do you know what Magikarp evolves into?"

"Umm…" Rachel had to think for a moment, "It's Gyarados, right?" She never liked Gyarados. It was huge and ugly and vicious. It was strong, but it certainly wasn't the kind of Pokémon she wanted.

"Right," he nodded, "then, do you know what Feebas evolves into?"

At this, Rachel shook her head. Everything she knew about the ugly fish came from those same fishermen at the docks. Most of them only knew about salt-water, fish-Pokémon. They might have heard of Feebas, but they didn't know much about it.

"Then I want you to find out," he told her, "Pokémon are very strange and mystical creatures. We can learn many lessons about life and ourselves from them. So, I want you to take this Feebas and care for it. If you love and nurture it, then, someday, when it's ready it will become something beautiful."

"Oh," Rachel nodded, still doubtful. Her fish didn't seem to be paying much attention to her.

Her granddad sighed again and stood up.

"Here," he grumbled, "call it back. I want to show you something."

"What is it?" Rachel asked, not hesitating a moment to recall her Feebas.

"I want to show you how to bake Poffins," he went on, "I was never very good at it, but your mother tells me you're becoming quite a good cook."

"What's a Poffin?" Rachel asked.

"You'll see."

They were in for a messy afternoon. There was something of an art to making high-quality Poffins. For every good one Rachel made, there were three failures. It may have taken all day to make one he said was good enough, but her granddad assured her it was worth it. He gave her careful instructions for giving her new Feebas only her best Poffins and to give it at least one a day for the next month.

It was a long, boring month for Rachel. An entire month of her summer vacation disappeared as she cared for her Feebas. When she wasn't baking it Poffins, it had to be outside of its Pokéball as much as possible. She took it back to the river, at the southern edge of Palkia's Woods every day. It swam back and forth over the same boring, empty stretch for hours and hours.

It couldn't even fight. The only thing it could do was Splash. If another fish Pokémon happened to swim by, Rachel had to either hope it would ignore her Feebas or she would have to call it back to avoid a fight it couldn't win. It was no wonder people usually threw them back.

She hated it, but her parents and her granddad insisted on keeping it. She tried to look up online what Feebas evolves into, but her granddad forbade that too. He told her that she needed to be patient and learn what hard work and dedication, even to something as ugly as a Feebas, could accomplish. So, she kept doing it.

She thought of naming it Bugeyes after that stupid look on its face, but she knew that would only make her granddad mad at her. He was usually nice to her, but one time she had seen him fight with her dad when she was little. Back then, he yelled so loud that one of the neighbors had knocked on the door to see if something was wrong.

After a month of nothing but baking in the kitchen or watching her stupid fish lazily swim in the river, her granddad told her that it was time.

"Here, take this," he pulled out what looked like a small piece of candy wrapped in blue foil.

"For me?" Rachel half-groaned as she asked. It wasn't much of a reward after slaving away for a month.

"No," he said as he unwrapped the foil, "this is for your Feebas. It's a special kind of sweet meant for Pokémon. It's called a Rare Candy, for good reason."

"What does it do?" she asked.

But, as he often did while teaching her, his response was "You'll see."

Rachel took the Rare Candy from her granddad and peered at it. It looked like a regular piece of chocolate candy to her. There was nothing special about it. It made a light plopping noise as Rachel tossed it into the river.

Her eyes widened in surprise when her Feebas did something interesting for the very first time. As soon as the Rare Candy broke the surface of the water, her Feebas immediately turned around and swam as hard as it could towards the bit of not-really-chocolate. It gulped the Pokémon treat down, swallowing it whole.

But, after that, nothing happened. The Feebas went back to swimming around in circles.

"Is that it?" Rachel asked.

"Watch."

She turned back to the river just as her Feebas began to glow white. Its body grew larger and longer. It became sleek and slender. No longer short, stout and ugly.

Rachel had seen pictures of Milotic before. She never understood why it was considered to be a beautiful Pokémon. It reminded her too much of an eel or a snake. However, seeing the real thing changed her mind completely.

The red and blue scales on its tail as well as its cream-colored body gave off a brilliant sheen underneath the early afternoon sun. It swam through the water with grace and ease, dashing here and there with elegant turns and twists. It was baffling to think that this beautiful creature had been something so ugly just moments ago.

"Have you seen a Milotic before?" her granddad asked.

"Only in pictures," Rachel shook her head, too mesmerized to look away from it.

"It requires a great deal of love, care and devotion to evolve a Feebas into a Milotic," he went on, "I never had the patience or the talent to do it."

Rachel looked back at him. She could never be sure, because he lowered his head too quickly, but she thought she saw tears in her grandfather's eyes. It could just as easily have been her imagination or how the sun reflected off of his face, so she didn't ask.

"We'll start training tomorrow," he added.

* * *

><p>The sixth day of the third Evolution Cup may have been covered in gray skies from dawn to dusk, but it was a pleasant day compared with the seventh.<p>

The rain that had threatened the concert the previous night became steady and persistent into the morning and showed no signs of stopping. It never poured, but remained steady. Some of the tournament-goers might not venture out in it. However, most of them were Pokémon trainers. And all Pokémon trainers had been through weather much worse than a light rain. It might be an annoyance, but it would not stop any true Pokémon trainer.

Teardrop sat in her usual place, letting the rain wet her long red hair, matting it against her shoulders. Like most water Pokémon, the Milotic-woman loved the rain. She had woken up earlier than usual to bask in it and watch the droplets make tiny ripples on the surface of the river. A small part of her wanted her old body back so she could glide through it the way she used to. But she would have to content herself with her memories. The others needed her the way she was.

Though Astral did not take steps when he moved, it was not difficult for Teardrop to notice his approach. The human Bronzong emerged through the trees. He hovered less than an inch over the ground, just enough to allow him to flex his psychic abilities. He also projected a kind of transparent field around his body. Any rain droplets that landed on his body bounced off without wetting his robes.

"Good morning, Astral," Teardrop greeted, "you're here rather early."

"Good morning, Teardrop," he returned formally, "I trust you're well."

"Yes, thank you," she smiled at him, knowing full well that he could simply read her mind if he wanted to know. However, the rain's effect on her mood was so obvious that reading her mind was unnecessary.

"Astral," Teardrop began, "I have a question for you."

"Why I subject myself to the whims of the Meadow Sisters?" Astral asked rhetorically, pulling the question out of Teardrop's own mind, "I suppose I just want to be helpful."

"I see…" Teardrop nodded.

"I know," he sighed, "petty gossip is not exactly the best use of my talents, but I simply can't get through whatever it is that's down at those docks," he paused before finishing, "the screams are too horrible, I can't concentrate."

"Isn't that proof enough to investigate?" Teardrop asked. Her question was one of curiosity. Thanks to Astral, any of the Four's human Pokémon that cared to know was well aware of the Leafeon-girl, Maple, and her trainer, Mark. The two were in search of any kind of help to uncover a base of operations for Team Deus but had been thus far ignored. As a result, they were ready to abandon the idea. Teardrop and Astral weren't the only two that worried if it was a mistake, but they were certainly in the minority.

"We don't know what's down there," Astral admitted, "no one does. I've been looking for agents, but so far I haven't found any. If there was one aboveground, maybe competing in the tournament, then I'd have a lead to follow. I don't like it either, but we need to wait."

"I know…" Teardrop sighed. She turned back to the water.

"Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Astral prompted.

Teardrop turned back to the human Bronzong. He watched her without any outward emotion. He didn't ask because he needed to know. He was offering simply to give her the chance to speak.

Talking to a mind-reader was strange enough to start with, but Teardrop found it very difficult to understand Astral. Possessing the knowledge and abilities that he did placed an immense amount of pressure on his shoulders, yet his emotions were always firmly in check. He never wanted anything for himself. It was difficult to say whether it was a blessing or a curse.

"Thank you for looking after them," Teardrop smiled as she accepted Astral's offer. Talking to a wall was exactly what she needed.

"It's not much, but you really do help," she went on, knowing Astral wouldn't respond, "they know it as well as we do…this could be our last tournament with River."

Astral waited patiently as Teardrop began to pour out her emotions.

"We're losing her. She…she doesn't need us anymore. She has a new life and there's no place for us in it. She can't take care of six people…all we can do is fight each other and pretend we're people like her…but we're not. We're…"

Teardrop said the words calmly and quietly. She tried to keep herself in check the way Astral did. But it didn't help and her namesake rolled down her cheeks anyway.

"We're going to have to change," she nodded, struggling to gather strength, "we can't sit out in the woods and pretend the world can't touch us. If River's growing up, then we'll have to do the same.

"So, thank you, Astral. I'm sure that Briar and Pixie and Cashmere already know what's coming. But thank you for helping them forget about it. Even if it's only until the end of the tournament."

Astral was silent for a few more seconds, allowing Teardrop the time to process her emotions. She was losing her best friend and felt responsible for every single human Pokémon RiverofTears had ever trained. She carried a heavy burden for someone who had been human for only seven years.

"Do you know why River says she loves the rain?" again, Astral asked rhetorically. He only wanted Teardrop to remember.

"Of course," Teardrop nodded before saying it aloud, "it's because it renews everything. It washes away the bad and replaces it with good. It may be unpleasant, but it means things are changing for the better."

Both human Pokémon watched the droplets in the river for a few moments.

"Tragedy and hardship can often bring friends closer together," Astral spoke next, "if my fears are correct, you may not have to lose River."

"Tragedy?" Teardrop asked him, "What do you mean? You think this Team Deus is going to…" She didn't want to finish.

"I can't be certain," Astral replied, "but something is about to happen. I just hope that we're ready."

"How bad?" Teardrop asked.

But Astral only shrugged. As powerful as his psychic abilities were, he couldn't see the future.

"So, either we lose River and live peacefully…" Teardrop mused, "or we stay together but have to fight off Team Deus…I don't know which is worse…"

"Neither do I," Astral admitted.

* * *

><p>AN: I never actually made Poffins in Gen. IV. I made Pokéblocks in Gen. III but I never got a Milotic in that generation either. If I remember correctly, you needed some kind of special berry to actually stand a decent chance of making good ones…<p>

Anyway, I decided to go with the old method for evolving Feebas just because it makes better storytelling (and Poffins over Pokéblocks because Pokéblocks just seemed weird and Poffins are, you know…food).

So, Day 7 is officially underway! I'll admit, there's not a whole lot going on in this chapter besides some more back story for the Four (which will come out more and more as the tournament goes on and they spend more and more time in the spotlight). I think that's something I'd do for editing the story as a whole. Make the chapters longer and fewer in number (80 chapters and counting?! BY GOD!). for now, though, it's just…my thing…

Anyway, I'll do my best to be back soon.

Thanks for reading!


	83. Rules of the Human Pokemon Playground

Chapter 81

Maple awoke at dawn to the dreariest day of the tournament. The sun was up, but it was well hidden behind the rain clouds over the island. She hated the rain. It made her tired and depressed, which was the exact opposite of what she needed.

As she waited for Mark and Cherry to wake up, she stared fixedly out of the window. She tried her best to will it to go away. Sadly, she didn't know Sunny Day. Even if she did, she knew it wouldn't last for very long and then the rain would be back.

She sorely hoped it would stop before the end of the day. She didn't want to have to fight Silver in the rain. She'd still win, but she'd be wet and unhappy.

Maple was sure she would fight him. Cherry would fight Shinobi and she would fight Silver. Mark would plan it that way. It would be the perfect time to knock some sense into Silver. She was ready. But first she would have to get through this dark, miserable day.

The sky was not much lighter when Mark and Cherry woke up about an hour later. The sight of the steady drops outside the window was not pleasant for either of them. Cherry's fire typing made water her natural enemy. Now that her only attacks were fire-based, every battle would be twice as hard.

Nevertheless, with only a single day of training left before their battle with Lily, there was no time left to slack off. Cherry needed to evolve into a Charmeleon. And now she needed to learn Slash.

"Aurum's going to be fighting his match this morning," Mark explained to the two Pokémon-girls, "we'll have to train by ourselves." Mark was glad to be training without Aurum's instruction. He worried if they were relying too much on the grumpy old man. Besides, if they kept training without him, maybe Aurum wouldn't scold him so much.

"So I get to fight Zap?" Cherry asked eagerly. Without the huge crowd of the concert around, she was back to her usual fiery self.

"Yes, you can fight Zap," Mark nodded, folding the tournament schedule back up, "but just as a battle. This isn't about revenge."

"Fine…" Cherry whined.

Before they left, Mark handed his only umbrella over to the two Pokémon-girls. The gesture initially confused the two since they had never used one before. However, their mutual dislike for the rain won out and they shared it while Mark went without it.

The rain hardly bothered Mark at all. It was such a light rain that it was more of an annoyance than anything. Several of the people that they passed went without umbrellas as well. Still, the streets were notably less busy. The rain had scared away at least some of the tournament-goers.

As they approached the square, Mark wondered if Zap might even show up if it was raining. He had mentioned that he was part of a group. If they were all human Pokémon children, playing in the rain would be a bad idea.

Mark had never seen the square so empty before. The tables and chairs outside the shops had been put back in their usual places, but they were all soaking wet and empty. Anyone getting food was taking it back to the hotel.

That made it easy to spot Zap and his friends milling about in the center of the square.

Including Zap, there were five of them, all human Pokémon no older than ten or eleven. Zap had the other four lined up and standing at attention. He was clearly the leader of the group, despite how bored and unhappy the others looked.

The group included a chunky Tepig boy, a skinny Meditite and a Panpour with comically over-sized ears. The only girl was the Eevee from last night's concert. She stood apart from the others, smiling happily at Zap. She was the only one.

"C'mon, Zap!" the Tepig whined, "It's cold and wet!"

"Yeah, Zap," the Panpour spoke next, "what's this thing you're supposed to show us?"

"It's coming!" the Pachirisu-boy assured the restless group.

"Well, what is it?" the Panpour spoke again, "at least tell us."

"Okay, _fine_!" Zap pulled his group into a small circle.

Mark could no longer hear what they were saying, but it must have had something to do with Cherry. She was undoubtedly what Zap intended on showing his group. But what did that mean? Something strange was going on.

The kids seemed to have formed their own little social circle. Mark even remembered seeing some of them from time to time. But where were their trainers? He saw only the Pokémon-children.

"Do you think you're ready for this, Cherry?" Mark turned to the Charmander-girl huddled next to Maple underneath the umbrella. They stood at the edge of the square. If they wanted to, turning around and leaving would be easy.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I'm ready."

"Okay," Mark agreed, "go on. I'm right behind you." Cherry stepped out into the rain and walked in front of Mark.

"Alright," Zap broke from the huddle, "but don't forget, I called dibs."

"This is gonna be awesome!" the Panpour-boy called out, but then he noticed Cherry coming towards them, "hey, Zap, is that her?"

The Pachirisu-boy turned and Mark watched his face light up with the same maniacal grin he had when he discovered Cherry was afraid of crowds.

Then Mark knew. This whole thing was a trap. A trap set by an eight-year-old human Pokémon and they had fallen right into it. Zap had arranged the whole thing so he could humiliate Cherry in front of all of his friends.

"Back for more?" he taunted sadistically, "I mean, you _can_ play this time, right? Or are you scared of the rain, too?"

"Shut up!" Cherry snarled, "I am _not_ scared!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Zap turned back to his friends, "oh, you guys should have seen it! She was so scared of all the people she couldn't even move!"

"Really?" the Panpour-boy giggled, "doesn't that only happen to crazy people?"

"Sure does!" the Tepig-boy spoke next, "guess she's scared _and _crazy!"

Mark ignored their taunts and studied the group. If Zap was the leader, the rest seemed to be little more than lackeys that would be fairly easy for him to keep in line. If Cherry defeated Zap, it was the same as defeating the whole group. Oddly, though, the Eevee-girl and the Meditite-boy did not join their taunting. The Meditite-boy watched Cherry without expression and the Eevee seemed to only have eyes for Zap.

"Are you going to fight me or not?!" Cherry challenged Zap, "or are _you_ afraid of losing to a girl?!"

That did it. Zap ceased taunting and turned back to Cherry. He couldn't let anyone threaten him. He certainly couldn't let a girl that was afraid of crowds threaten him. If he did, they might not let him be group leader anymore.

"Alright, let's go," Zap grinned, but he became as cold as stone as he pointed straight at Mark, "But he can't be here!"

"Huh?" Cherry blinked, "why? We're battling, right?"

"Not like that!" Zap shook his head adamantly, "no trainers! Those are our rules!"

"Umm…" Cherry looked up at Mark, unsure of what to do.

"It's okay," he nodded, "you'll be fine without me." He put his hand on her shoulder before finishing, "I'll still be here if you get hurt."

"Uhh…" Cherry began to reach for him as he left, but she stopped herself. Still determined, she turned back to Zap.

Mark walked back to stand with Maple. He didn't like leaving Cherry alone, but he understood enough to leave this to her.

The "No Trainers" rule existed for good reason. Stating it was the only serious thing Zap had done since they had met him. It was the same as a human child's rule against tattling. It meant bringing an adult into something that was supposed to be between the kids. If Mark helped her win, that victory would not be Cherry's and they would only hate her for winning that way.

But Mark knew the rules. He had grown up with them. These children might be human Pokémon, but they were still children.

If Cherry was going to win, she would have to do it without running to an adult for help.

Still, watching his Charmander-girl fight and not being able to help was going to be hard.

"Ready?" Zap asked, once Mark and his own friends had backed away enough to give them room.

"Yea-OW!" Cherry stumbled back as Zap bounced off of her. The Pachirisu-boy did not give her the chance to be ready and began with a lightning-fast Quick Attack.

"Go!" Zap tittered, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Cherry lunged after him, her mouth filled with fire as she tried to catch him with a Fire Fang. But Zap was too quick. He bounced away from her and kicked her in the side with another Quick Attack.

"What the heck was that?!" he called out, "you tryin' to kiss me or something?"

Cherry lunged after him again, barely missing his arm this time. The Pachirisu-boy was too quick.

_Dragon Dance, Dragon Dance, Dragon Dance_, Mark thought, hoping Cherry would realize what she needed to do. Zap was just toying with her, keeping his distance and wearing her down. He was going to make a spectacle of beating her.

Zap dodged a third Fire Fang, grinning widely as an idea came to him.

"Well, if that's how you want it…"

As Cherry bit down on the air, Zap leaned in and kissed her quickly on the cheek. Cherry's eyes shot wide as she blushed involuntarily. But just a second later, her head started to feel foggy and began to hurt.

"Umm…Mark?" Maple asked, "what did he just…?"

"Sweet Kiss," Mark groaned and shook his head, "not good."

Cherry shook her head, trying to clear it of the fog left by Zap's Sweet Kiss.

"What's wrong?" Zap teased, "did I do it wrong? That's what you wanted, right?" He started to giggle.

Cherry responded by opening her mouth and firing a Flame Burst straight at him. The fireball exploded across his chest, knocking the boy off of his feet. He yelled out in pain, but somehow managed to right himself in mid-air. He landed on his feet, crouching down only slightly. Outwardly, he was no worse than before.

"Shut up!" Cherry yelled.

"Well, alright," Zap responded. He was no longer taunting her. He was actually going to start taking her seriously. The Pachirisu-boy had never expected Cherry to be an actual threat. "If you're that tough, then I'd better stop playing."

Cherry's head was still spinning as she watched Zap prepare his next attack. His body began to spark and glow with yellow arcs of electricity as he crouched low to the ground. The glow grew brighter and brighter until Zap was practically a living light-bulb. He dashed straight for her, trying to ram into her with his Spark.

The Charmander-girl tried to dodge his attack, but with her head still spinning, she stumbled and began to fall forward onto the pavement. Shoulder-first, Zap rammed directly into Cherry's stomach, sending her rolling backwards. The small girl cringed in pain from the new attack. She was much slower to get up this time.

"Done yet?" Zap called.

Mark was ready to agree with him. Cherry was losing and there was little hope for her to turn the battle around. There was no point in making the girl suffer. Let Zap have his playground victory, Cherry was more important to him, than that.

He began to feel the eyes of the other people in the square on him, as well. A battle between human Pokémon this young was a rare sight. And, for all the right reasons, watching it did not give the same reaction in the onlookers. They were watching a trainer put victory over the well-being of a child.

Mark had to agree with them. But if he stopped the battle early and interfered, Cherry would hate him. They were children, but they were Pokémon as well. It was not the first time, or the last time, Mark had to remind himself of the strange two-sided nature of human Pokémon.

Cherry's head finally cleared as she turned to face Zap again. She could tell that she was hurt badly. One or maybe two more hits from Zap's Spark would be the end of it. She couldn't let that happen. But then she remembered something…something that could help her win.

Zap began to run forward, charging up his next Spark as he went. When he was only a few yards away, thick, black smoke began to fill the air. It stung at his eyes and his target seemed to disappear through the cloud. Still, she wouldn't have time to move and Zap launched himself at the spot where she had been.

But the space was empty and the girl was gone.

A moment later, Zap felt his side explode into fire as another of Cherry's Flame Burst attacks connected. Zap spun away, grateful for the rain that dampened the attack and kept it from burning him too badly. Still, the attacks were stronger than he expected. Now _he_ didn't feel so good.

_It worked!_ Cherry thought with sheer delight. The Smokescreen in the air partially blinded Zap, but with Spark active, he was an easy to find glowing orb. If she just kept moving, she could easily stay ahead of him.

That's what she thought, but Zap retaliated amazingly quickly. The glowing spot in the smoke shot straight for her after her Flame Burst. Cherry only had a moment to get out of the way, but it was enough.

Under the cover of the Smokescreen, she performed the quick spiral of Dragon Dance. Now it was her turn to humiliate Zap.

"Ooo, _pretty_!" she called to him, "you're a squirrel-shaped Christmas tree!"

"HEY!" the glowing spot of light shot forward again, but dodging was easier this time thanks to Dragon Dance. She performed another, careful to keep well ahead of Zap. A few moments later, the smoke began to clear and Cherry realized she had to finish the fight soon.

"There you are!" Zap shouted as he spotted Cherry. His eyes were red from the heavy smoke and he was indignant with anger. He was no longer the taunting, jeering little jerk Cherry hated him for. The change made her very, very happy.

Zap dashed at her with Spark, confident that with the smoke gone he could easily finish the Charmander-girl. At the last moment, Cherry spun away as she side-stepped him. The Pachirisu-boy stumbled forward, regaining his balance as the glow of Spark faded from his body.

He never expected what came next.

Zap felt his tail burning as Cherry bit down and clamped onto it with her Fire Fang. The pain was bad enough, but then he felt himself being lifted off of the ground. Cherry tossed him by his tail back to the opposite side of the square. He landed in a heap in front of his utterly flabbergasted group of friends.

"Ugghh…" Zap groaned as he sat up. A thin trail of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, "no more. No more! You win!" He whimpered on the ground, fighting back tears.

Cherry flopped back onto the ground. She started to giggle and cheer, relishing her first victory against a real opponent. She had won! And she did by herself!

"She beat Zap…" the Tepig-boy stared, "only grown-ups can beat Zap…"

"You did it!" Maple scooped Cherry off of the ground and hugged her, the umbrella forgotten somewhere behind her.

"Congratulations," Mark said more calmly, though his heart was still racing from having to watch her fight alone, "you did it all on your own, too."

"Yep!" Cherry beamed at him, "owowowow! Down, _down_!" In a rush, Maple set Cherry down on the ground and stepped back.

Gathering energy, Cherry flexed her hand and watched it become covered with orange-red scales and razor-sharp claws on each finger. She swiped it through the air with amazing speed and power. A soft whistling sound accompanied each swipe.

"Well," Mark started, "as cool as that was, I think you should forget about Fire Fang."

"Really?" Cherry asked, also a tad disappointed.

"Yeah…" Mark sighed, "Slash is better, anyway."

"Okay…" Cherry nodded. A moment later, she shook her head. "Done," she announced, "what now?"

Mark waited. This had to be it. If it wasn't going to happen now, then there was nothing left he could think of that could trigger it. Would she be a Charmeleon for tomorrow? Or would she be stuck as a Charmander?

So he waited…and waited.

"Umm…what's going on?" Cherry asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

* * *

><p>AN: back again.<p>

I overpowered Smokescreen a bit, but Cherry also missed with Fire Fang three times in a row, so, it kinda evens out.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about X and Y coming out, since it'll only be another month. You can pretty much expect the same deal as with the Black/White Pokemon. It'll take me a bit to really get comfortable with them, but there's still room for X and Y Pokemon to make it into the story.

The legendaries are, of course, the thing that could affect the story the most. But, I imagine they'll be something like Reshiram and Zekrom: they're really strong, but since they're not directly involved with Mewtwo or Arceus, I consider them to be separate. But, we'll see once the games come out.

It would certainly be cool if I can work in Mewtwo's Mega Stone evolution…..

Anyway, I guess that's it, for now. I have to apologize again for falling so horribly far behind schedule with posting, reading and responding to messages, etc. Work has been fairly normal recently, I'm just finding it tough to get back into a rhythm (this chapter took two weeks instead of my usual one). I imagine that has something to do with not having any time to write for months on end…

But, enough of my worries and I shall return as quick as I can!

Thanks for reading!


	84. A Skitty and a Swing-Set

Chapter 82

"No…" Cherry shook her head, "no, you're lying. You're lying, right?"

Mark stared at the poor Charmander-girl, filled with pity. He felt wretched. He had just crushed the girl's dreams of becoming a Charizard and flying through the air.

But there was no way to avoid it. Cherry would have figured it out sooner or later.

"Maple," Cherry turned to her new big sister, "he's lying, right?"

"Umm…" Maple looked down at her feet. Mark was usually right about these kinds of things. He was their trainer. It was his job to know.

"There might still be a way," Mark began, trying to comfort her, "something we haven't thought of yet."

"Like what?!" Cherry snapped.

"I don't know…" Mark thought for a bit, "maybe you'll evolve when you get a little bit older…"

"But training won't do anything?!" Cherry demanded.

Mark sighed heavily. He studied the Charmander-girl, wondering what he might say. She looked small and weak sitting in front of him. Her hair was matted against her forehead from the rain. It had turned an even darker shade of red. It really was as dark as a cherry right then.

"I'm sorry."

In a way, he thought he deserved what happened next.

"No…no…" Cherry repeated. Her eyes widened as the realization seeped in. All of her training, all of her hard work…what did it amount to now? A few new tricks? What good were they if she was still stuck with the body of a weak little Charmander?

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed at her trainer, "I thought I'd get stronger if I went with you! That I wouldn't have to feel weak and useless anymore! I wouldn't have to stay all alone and be scared anymore!

"Cherry," Mark started, "you're not-"

"SHUT UP!" Cherry continued to scream, "You're no better than Master Vince! I HATE YOU!" She stood up and ran.

"Cherry!" Maple called out, chasing after the Charmander-girl. Maple would've caught her, except that Cherry started to use Dragon Dance. She raced ahead of Maple, accelerating all the time. She was moving at least three times as fast as Maple when she disappeared.

Mark stood alone back at the square. The only sound was the rain falling around him.

_I HATE YOU!_

He knew it was coming, but he couldn't stop it.

Something tugged at his sleeve.

He looked over to see one of the Pokémon-children standing next to him. It was the Tepig-boy. His round face was terrified with worry.

"Mister…is it true what you said?" the boy asked, "that we can't evolve?"

Mark could only shrug and shake the boy off. He first began to walk, and then run as he went after Maple and Cherry.

* * *

><p>The clock glowed 8:55 when Silver woke up that morning. He groaned at the stupid thing. The first tournament match of the day would be starting in just a few minutes. So much for watching Aurum kick the crap out of another nobody.<p>

He wasn't really surprised that Aroma wasn't next to him. Unlike Silver, she was a morning person. Maybe he would get lucky and she would bring back breakfast. The only problem with that would be eating in awkward silence around Lily and Shinobi. No, it would be a much better idea to take it outside, walk around and…it was faint, but Silver could hear the sound of rain against the window. Never mind that idea.

In any case, if he wanted to do anything with Aroma, he'd have to get up.

The room was still oddly dark. He assumed that Lily would be awake by now, but his teenage-trainer was still sleeping in the opposite bed. Shinobi would be inside his Pokéball. If Silver wanted to get away, now was his chance.

Silver slipped out of bed as quietly as possible. It was something that he was good at naturally and he'd been getting even more practice lately. He dressed quickly and quietly as well. He kept one eye firmly on the young girl across the room. She already ogled him plenty, any more and he'd have to start convincing Aroma to run away with him.

In a way, he was already planning it. The two of them couldn't stay with Lily forever and they already spent most of their time apart from their trainer. He was starting to wish he was a full human rather than this stupid mix. If he and Aroma were human, then _they_ would be taking care of Lily, not the other way around.

Distracted by his idea, he nearly tripped over Shinobi on his way out the door.

The human Ninjask was crouched right in front of it. Only the gleam of light off of his golden mask tipped Silver off to his presence.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Silver whispered harshly.

Shinobi stayed silent, watching Silver with his ruby-red eyes.

"You can't stop me from leaving, you know," Silver said, hoping it wouldn't come down to a fight. If Shinobi _really_ wanted to keep Silver from leaving, he could do it. He had to trust that the ninja would not act without orders. Silver was almost positive that he wouldn't. Almost.

"You need to speak to Mistress Lily," Shinobi spoke aloud. Silver jumped and glanced over his shoulder at Lily. No movement. Thank Arceus.

"Keep your voice down!" Silver hissed, "I'll talk to her later, when she's awake."

"She _is_ awake," Shinobi said, "she's been awake for at least an hour."

"Shinobi…what is this about?" Silver needed to change the subject. Where was this going? Was Aroma in on this too? "Is this about tomorrow? Because I'll be there, if that's what you're worried about."

"The match is a concern, yes," Shinobi nodded, "however, there is a more…personal matter that needs to be discussed."

"Personal how?" Silver asked. He almost had him.

"It's not my place to say…"

"Then you won't mind stepping aside and letting me through," Silver snapped in an angry whisper.

Defeated, Shinobi had no choice but to do as Silver said. The human Absol slammed the door on his way out.

Fuming as he went, Silver decided he needed the walk and took the stairs down to the lobby. He cursed Shinobi as he went. How things were between he and Lily were none of Shinobi's concern. He had done nothing wrong. They were treating him like a child, just as before.

This was it, then. It was time for Silver and Aroma to leave. It might be hard on their own, but they could figure it out. He might not know how to read very well, but Aroma could do it just fine. She could teach him and he could find a way to live where nobody would have to look at his horn. Maybe there was even a way he could get it removed…

But his planning came to a stop when he saw Aroma waiting for him in the lobby. He pushed his worries aside as he hugged and kissed her.

"Good morning," he greeted, kissing her once more.

"Morning, sleepy-head," she giggled, "…something wrong?"

"Not anymore," Silver shook his head, "but I had an idea that I wanted to talk to you about."

"Really?" Aroma asked before turning to a nearby chair, "Well, you can tell me all about it over breakfast. Here." She picked up a small, slightly wet, cardboard tray holding four cups and handed it to him.

"Four?" Silver asked, "Why are there four cups?"

"Because we're going upstairs," Aroma said it as though they had agreed on the idea hours ago, "c'mon, let's get going."

_Dammit_, Silver thought, _the whole world's against me_…

* * *

><p>When Cherry stopped running, she didn't recognize where she was anymore. She could see the hotel off in the distance, but none of the other buildings looked the same. Instead of the usual shops and office buildings, there were two-story houses and a lot more trees. The streets were quiet and empty. No human Pokémon or Pokémon trainers lived around here.<p>

Exhausted from running, she breathed hard as she looked around. The first thing she needed to do was get out of the rain. The cold, wet, annoying rain just made everything worse.

She shied away from the houses. Several of them had small porches that she could take shelter under, but she didn't want to disturb anyone. She had no idea how people would react to seeing a human Pokémon outside their house.

Twice she had to leave the main road as a car passed. She hadn't seen one of those in a very long time. Not since before Master Vince had left her with Team Deus. She didn't like them. They were loud and annoying and one honked at her because she hadn't seen it come up from behind her. This wasn't a very nice part of Himitsu Island.

She made her way down the street, cursing Mark with every step. It was his fault she was in this weird place. It was his fault for taking her out of the Team Deus base and making her go through all that stupid training just to tell her it didn't mean anything. And now what? Did he want her to fight Shinobi even though she was just a Charmander?

That scared her. She didn't want to fight Shinobi. Not anymore. Not if she couldn't be a Charizard, or at least a Charmeleon.

Shinobi scared her. She didn't want to admit that, even to herself, but it was true. Even if he was just a bug-type, anybody could see how strong he was. A lot of them were just as afraid of him as she was. She had trouble with Zap and he was just a kid!

And if the rain didn't stop, it was completely hopeless.

Sweet Arceus, she hated the rain!

"I HATE YOU, TOO!" Cherry screamed. She spat a Flame Burst straight up into the sky. She watched it climb higher and higher before it broke into tiny cinders and fizzled out. It didn't make her feel any better.

When she came to the next intersection, she looked up and down the street. To her left was another row of the same houses, but off to her right she could see a small school building.

Having never gone to school, Cherry had no idea what they were like. However, she had seen one in Viridian City and heard Master Vince talk about his own. Every human boy and girl had to go to one. Some liked it, some didn't, but to Cherry they were strange, mysterious, and even magical places.

As she came closer, she took notice of a small playground outside. There were no human kids outside and everything was wet, so she didn't pay much attention to it. Instead she walked straight through the fence and up to the double doors at the front of the building. There was writing over the door, but of course she couldn't read it. That was something they taught you inside.

She tried to open the door. It moved just a tiny bit before sticking in place. She tried again, but the same thing happened.

_Locked…_ she thought, _figures…_

With nothing else to do, she stood underneath the overhang and looked around. Water started to run down her hair and drip onto the concrete. She didn't realize she was so wet or cold until that moment.

How long had she been outside? She didn't know. Mark and Maple were probably looking for her. They wouldn't know where she had gone. Should she go back?

No. She didn't want to go back. If she did, Mark would just train her some more. The only thing that would do was give her more headaches when she learned a new attack. She wouldn't evolve that way, so what did it matter?

Besides, she was still angry at Mark. Stupid, lying, jerk-face Mark who made her train against annoying Aipom and boring Bidoof. She had fought fifty of each of them in two days and what good did it do her? He was as bad as Master Vince.

Trying to think about something else, she looked over at the playground. She guessed that they were toys, or something like it. Some just looked like weird sets of bars or pointless boards attached to metal poles. Having never played on any of these weird things, she could only recognize a few. The swings and the slide she knew by name, but not really how they worked.

On impulse, she decided to take a closer look at the swings. There were four seats hanging across a metal bar painted blue. The seats were the only part that moved.

There were small puddles of water collected in the seats. She turned one upside-down and the water splashed onto the already wet ground. The seat was still wet so she tried brushing it off, which only helped a tiny bit. Deciding it wasn't going to get any better, Cherry sat in the seat.

Nothing really happened after that. She realized that she was supposed to do something, but she had no idea what that was. If she twisted her body, the seat did the same and then sprung back to where it was before. However, if Cherry planted her feet on the ground, she could get it to twist around and around without springing back. Doing so made the chains twist together over her head. After a while, the chains wouldn't twist anymore so she picked up her legs and the world blended until it looked like a streak of multi-colored paint as she spun in a circle. Once she stopped, her head started to hurt a little bit. The swings were not very much fun.

"That's not how you're supposed to do it…" a voice called out.

Cherry looked up and saw a small, human Pokémon-girl clutching the fence, as if she were trying to hide behind it. That was, of course, a very silly thing to do because Cherry could see straight through it.

The girl was a human Skitty, somewhere around Cherry's age. She wore a simple cream-colored dress with frilly trim and a white bow. Her short hair was a bubblegum-pink, just like her ears and the puff of fur at the end of her tail. Her big eyes were a pretty shade of purple.

"Oh, hello…" Cherry greeted, she was surprised another human Pokémon was around here, "uhh…do you live here?"

The Skitty-girl shook her head, "nuh-uh…Daddy needed to talk to somebody who lives here. But he doesn't like…people like us…"

"Oh, okay," Cherry nodded, "what's your name?"

"Claire…" the Skitty-girl answered.

It was a human name. Cherry began to wonder why. In fact, she was starting to wonder all sorts of things about this girl. Why was she out here? Cherry had never seen her before and she certainly had nothing to do with Zap and his gang. She didn't talk about her trainer; she talked about her "Daddy." Who was that?

"Hi, Claire," Cherry nodded, "my name's Cherry. Uhh…could you…show me how this works?"

"Umm…okay…" the Skitty-girl eyed her warily as she approached the swings. Cherry took the liberty of turning the seat over and brushing off the water.

"Uhh…it's like this…" Claire said. She leaned back in the seat and held her legs forward. The seat tilted forward a bit before coming back. On the return, Claire tucked her legs back in place and leaned forward in the seat again.

Cherry watched her do this a few times as she gradually climbed higher and higher, the arc of the swing growing larger each time. Soon, the Skitty-girl was giggling with delight as the swings grew downright enormous. Cherry tried to do the same, but it was difficult since she didn't really understand what it was Claire was doing. It took a few minutes to work out how to lean into the swing and pull back at the right moments. Only gradually did she start to get a feel for it. By that time, Claire was swinging so high Cherry wondered if she might be able to do a full circle around the swing-set.

Once she was doing it right, Cherry loved the swings. The higher she went, the faster she went and the more the wind rushed in her ears. Each swing brought her higher and higher and she could see farther and farther into the distance. She began to go so fast she couldn't even feel the rain. She wondered if flying might be like this…

"See? It's easy!" Claire giggled once Cherry was up to her own height.

"Yeah!" Cherry yelled, she didn't think she needed to, but she felt like it, "thanks for showing me!"

The two Pokémon-girls swung next to each other for a time, oblivious to the rain falling around them. The streets were quiet and empty, yet they did not take notice, nor care.

Cherry spoke next.

"So where are you from?" she asked.

"Saffron City!" Claire shouted, "Daddy brought me with him for the tournament! He's been really busy, but he always brings me along anyway!"

"Is this the first time you've been here?"

"Nope! I've been to all of them!" Claire said proudly, "but I don't really remember the first one…I think I was too little to remember that one."

"How old were you?"

"Five!" Claire shouted, "But Daddy says I was really two!"

"So you're…nine?" if Cherry was adding it up right, which she wasn't sure about, then Claire was three times her age while actually being younger than her, at the same time. In fact, Claire was older than her and Maple put together!

"Yep!" Claire giggled, "But there's usually not that many kids here…so I'm glad you're here! Daddy's always saying I should have friends like me!"

"What's your dad's name?" Cherry asked. It was the first question she had wanted to ask.

"Oh…umm…" Claire hesitated, "I'm not really supposed to say…"

All of a sudden, the Skitty-girl became very quiet and her swings seemed to slow down, as well. But a moment later, they picked up speed again.

"But I think I can tell you," Claire chirped, "I don't think I'll get in trouble. My daddy's Alfred Silph! He runs the tournament!"

* * *

><p>AN: yay, new chapter!<p>

Umm…can't think of anything else to say…

No battles this chapter, just cutesy stuff with the little kids. Cherry completely missed having a normal childhood. She needs a friend…and Alfred Silph needs more characterization…

Guess that's it. I'll see you next time.

Thanks for reading!


	85. The Lost Charmander

Chapter 83

Volt stared back at Kim, wondering if she was joking. The way she was staring into space was unnerving. She was somewhere far away. Was she even thinking clearly?

"You can't be serious," he said plainly.

Kim shook her head, "no, I'm pretty serious."

Volt looked over at Sprinkle, but she was quiet, with her head down, just like Kim. When was the last time he had seen her like that? Had he ever seen her like that?

"I'm going to tell them, Volt," Kim continued, "I feel like I have to."

"You don't have to tell that kid a damn thing!" Volt yelled, "He's the little bastard who yelled at you! Why apologize for something that's not your fault?!" When Kim didn't answer, he went on, "What? Are you falling for him or something?"

"Volt, shut up," Sprinkle sighed. The Vaporeon-girl stood and walked over to sit next to Kim. "You never told anybody except for us, your mom and the psychiatrist," she spoke quietly and gently. She was not the flirtatious girl she was on the beach. Kim needed her and Sprinkle would do anything for her. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yeah…I think so," Kim nodded, "it's been years since it happened. I should be able to move on by now, right?" The two human Pokémon fidgeted at the question, "Never mind, don't answer that. Even if this whole mess is his fault, I don't want to end up pushing them away and just making it all worse. I just want to have friends again…"

Volt and Sprinkle each looked away this time. Volt even crossed his arms and began to scowl.

"Friends, huh?" he scoffed, "you mean _human_ friends, right?"

"Volt…" Kim looked back and forth between the two before she realized it, "that's not what I meant. I'm not putting them above you guys. You're not friends, you're family."

"Fine, whatever…" Volt grumbled, determined to oppose Kim's idea to the bitter end.

Kim had no choice but to let him go. She knew he wouldn't agree with the idea. He was stubborn and had no reason to like Mark or Maple. Neither of her human Pokémon really did. It was Kim who told them about the tournament and led them around the island. She had grown attached to them while Volt kept his distance and Sprinkle focused on her fans. Kim didn't want to lose them over one, petty fight.

"What about you, Sprinkle?" Kim turned to the Vaporeon-girl. Sprinkle barely knew Mark and Maple at all, but Kim always counted on her. She could trust Sprinkle to look out for her.

"You're really going to do it?" she looked heartbroken, though Kim didn't understand why.

"Yeah, I am," she was more convincing this time.

"Okay," Sprinkle nodded, "if that's what you want, then that's what you should do."

"Thank you, Sprinkle," Kim smiled at her, "these are good people. They'll understand."

Sprinkle smiled back and nodded again. But there was something forced about it. That heartbroken look remained even as she smiled. Was there something Kim had overlooked?

"Hey," Volt spoke up once more, "for the record: you're not falling for that kid, are you?"

"No, idiot," Kim sighed, "He's only sixteen. He's still a kid."

"So? You only gotta wait two years," he smirked, "it won't be so awkward when you're twenty-five and he's twenty-one."

Kim nearly burst into laughter from sheer relief. She hated talking about something as serious as her past. Volt, Sprinkle and even Cotton knew about it. Sprinkle had seen it all firsthand and talking to her about it was still hard. She would have to tell Mark and be serious again, but until the time came, it would be good to laugh it off.

Someone knocked at her door. Volt moved to answer it, but Kim waved him down.

"I'll handle it," she said. She wasn't that weak.

Whoever it was knocked again. It was quick, almost frantic.

Mark and Maple, both soaked from the rain, were standing on the other side.

"Oh, it's you, noob…" it was easy for Kim to slip her mask back on, "what do you want?"

"Kim, I'm sorry," Mark panted, "for everything…"

"Damn right, you are," Kim snarled. _Easy, you idiot_, she thought, _easy_.

"I'm sorry, I really am. But we need your help," he paused, as if too ashamed to finish, "Cherry…ran away."

Kim blinked, "what?"

"Cherry ran away," he repeated, "I…I did something stupid."

"What else is new?" Kim rolled her eyes and sighed, "What did you say to her?"

"Uh…I don't think she's going to evolve…not now, maybe not ever."

Kim's eyes widened, "get in here and dry off, you idiots. You're dripping everywhere." She grabbed two towels from the bathroom and flung them at the pair.

"Don't you have an umbrella or something?" Kim asked as they dried themselves off.

"We did…" Maple fidgeted.

"We left it behind when Cherry took off," Mark explained, handing his towel back over.

"How long has she been gone?"

"I don't know…almost an hour, I think."

"A whole hour?" she asked, taking Maple's towel from her, "who else is looking?"

"Umm…" Mark hesitated, "we came here first…"

Kim blinked again, "alright, fair enough. Any ideas where she might have gone?"

They both shook their heads.

"Grand…" she grumbled, "hey! You two hear that?!"

"Somebody's missing?" Sprinkle called, coming over to lend a hand.

"Yeah, Cherry's missing," Mark nodded, "we have to find her. Soon."

Sprinkle stared blankly for a few moments.

"The Charmander-girl," Kim supplied and realization came to Sprinkle and quickly turned to fear.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped, covering her mouth, "Volt, come on!"

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled.

"Lead the way," Kim nodded to Mark.

The group was assembled and ready to go, when there was a second knock at the door.

This time, Quickstep, the human Mienshao that Kim met alongside Maple was standing there. However, he proceeded to ignore her and glared directly at Mark and Maple.

"You two are a piece of work," he complained, "You run around in circles for an hour and neither of you thinks 'Hey! We can just ask the psychic guy for help!'" He paused for effect before continuing his tirade, "Nope! Never crosses your freaking minds! So I have to chase you down myself just because Astral's too much of an all-important jackass to do it himself!" He directed his next comment at the ceiling, "You heard me!"

"Quickstep!" Maple cheered. Whether she chose to ignore his rant or didn't take notice was difficult to say.

"Yeah, hey…" he nodded back.

"Umm…who is this?" Mark asked the Leafeon-girl.

"Oh!" she started, "Mark, this is Quickstep. He's the one who introduced me to PureBlueSky and Teardrop and Briar and Pixie and Cashmere and…oh!"

"Yeah, Astral," Quickstep supplied the name she forgot, "and if you're all ready to go, we'd better leave before your little Charmander moves again."

"You found Cherry?!" Maple exclaimed.

"No, Astral did," Quickstep sighed heavily, "sweet Arceus, have you even been listening?"

"I'm sorry…" Maple's ears drooped as she looked away.

"Dammit, don't start that now," Quickstep groaned, "c'mon, let's just get going already. We got a long walk ahead of us. She's fast for such a little thing."

"Is she okay?" Mark asked. He had no idea what to make of Quickstep. So far he had no reason to like him. But no matter what he thought about Quickstep, Cherry's safety came first.

"She's fine," Quickstep assured him, "wet, like we'll be, but otherwise fine. Still kinda pissed at you, but she'll calm down. She's only ten."

Mark nodded. He had no idea what he could say to apologize to Cherry, but first they needed to get her off of the streets. Alone out there, she was a walking target for Team Deus. They needed to hurry.

"Come on, losers," Quickstep directed, "follow me."

* * *

><p>"Your dad's in charge of the whole tournament?" Cherry asked.<p>

"Yep!" Claire chirped, "The _whooooole_ tournament was his idea. He paid for it and everything!"

"Really? Wow," Cherry said, not as impressed as what she probably should have been. She thought she remembered hearing about Alfred Silph before, but she wasn't sure. Of course, if he ran the tournament then he certainly was important.

"What about you?" Claire asked.

Cherry tried to think of something impressive to say. There wasn't much to pick from. She didn't want to say that she spent most of her life in a Team Deus prison. There wasn't really anything else to talk about.

"My trainer's name is Mark," was the only thing she could decide on.

"Really?" Claire asked with full enthusiasm, "what's he like?"

"He's…" Cherry tried to pick a word that suited him best, "he's a liar."

"Really?" Claire asked with dismay this time, "what did he lie about?"

"He said that I'd evolve if I fought a bunch of Pokémon and trained a whole bunch," Cherry explained, "but it didn't work. Now I have to fight in the tournament as a Charmander."

"_You're fighting in the tournament?_!" Claire squealed with delight, "That's so cool!"

"Uh…I guess so…" Cherry hadn't really thought about it. The matches were fun to watch, but she had never thought about how _she_ would be in one of them.

"Wow…I wish I could fight…" Claire mused, "Daddy won't let me train until I'm a bit older. He doesn't want me to get hurt."

"Huh? Really?" Cherry asked. That was odd. Claire was definitely old enough to fight. All of the other kids trained just like the adults. Why wouldn't her dad let her fight? Mark let Cherry fight, after all…

"When's your next match?" Claire asked, changing the subject.

"Tomorrow morning," Cherry told her, her voice was filled with dread.

"Okay, I'll be there!" Claire declared, "We never miss any of the matches!"

"Oh…" Cherry slowed down her swing; she didn't feel like it anymore, "don't go to mine. You'll just see me lose…"

"Really? Why?"

"Because I'm stuck as a Charmander…"

"That doesn't mean you'll lose," Claire pointed out, "Trainers in cartoons win with unevolved Pokémon all the time. They're really good!"

"In cartoons, maybe, but this is real life," Cherry pointed out. She didn't know what to do. The toughest fight of her whole life was only a day away and she would still be a Charmander for it. Nothing more than a weak little kid.

"Nuh-uh," Claire shook her head, "trainers do it in real life, too."

"They do not."

"Do too!"

"Do not."

"Do too!"

"Okay, fine," Cherry was too tired to argue, "Maybe they do, but what about human Pokémon?"

Claire had to think about that. She really hadn't ever seen an unevolved human Pokémon fight a match before. There weren't any in the entire tournament. There never had been.

"Maybe you could be the first!" she suggested.

"Hmm…" that sounded tempting, "no…no, I'm too weak."

"Ohh…that's too bad…" Claire began to stop swinging as well.

Cherry had already come to a full stop and started twisting in her seat once more. She released and let herself spin in a circle. The headache from her dizziness was still lingering behind when she started again. The second time made her feel queasy. Worse, now that she wasn't moving, the constant rain started to bother her again.

"What other Pokémon does your trainer have?" Claire asked, still eager to talk to her new friend.

"Well…Maple's the only other human Pokémon he has. She's a Leafeon."

"A Leafeon?!" Claire exclaimed, letting her swing come to a slow stop, "wait…isn't Mark the name of the person who's fighting with just one human Pokémon?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah! Yeah, it is!" Claire hopped up and down in her seat, "He beat three human Pokémon with a Leafeon and a bunch of regular Pokémon!"

"He did?" Cherry had never heard about that. Mark and Maple didn't tell her much about the start of the tournament.

"I didn't realize he had you too!" Claire missed Cherry's question, "that was a really good match! You're lucky to have a trainer like him!"

"I am?" Cherry doubted that.

"Hey, what attacks do you know?" Claire turned and leaned towards her.

"Umm…I know Smokescreen, and Flame Burst," Claire's violet eyes grew wider and more excited with each new name, "and Slash, and…I'm not supposed to say the last one…"

"That's okay," Claire told her, "you don't have to. All I know is Scratch and Growl…"

Cherry nodded. Three days ago she didn't know much more than that. She really had come a long way. And that was all because of Mark. He worried all the time, but what was he worried about? Did he just want to win or was he worried about Cherry?

"Your dad won't let you fight?" Cherry asked. Something about what Claire said bothered her.

"Nuh-uh," Claire shook her head, "he says I have to wait until I'm older."

"But you're older than me…sorta," Cherry said, perplexed by the idea, "you could even fight in the tournament if you wanted."

"I know…" Claire said, "But Daddy's not a trainer…" It was strange how sad Claire was when she said it. It was as if she were watching a bunch of other kids buying ice cream in the summer but wasn't allowed to have any for herself.

Cherry didn't know what to say. If she didn't have a trainer, Claire might have to live her entire life without battling. It made Cherry sad to think about.

Claire started swinging again, faster and faster. Cherry watched her for a minute or two, wondering what it was like to live as a normal human girl with cat-ears, a tail, and hair the color of pink bubblegum. And almost never see somebody like you.

Cherry started swinging to try and catch up to the Skitty-girl who was already at the top of her swing. She was used to the swings by then, but Claire was an expert at them. It took another few minutes for her to catch up.

"Would it make you happy to see me battle?" Cherry asked.

"Yeah!" Claire answered, "That would be really cool!"

"What if I lost?"

"I dunno…" Claire answered, "Would losing make you sad?"

"Probably…"

"Then I'll be sad with you," Claire declared, "If you win, I'll be happy with you. If you lose, I'll be sad with you."

Cherry nodded. Win or lose, Claire would be behind her. The Skitty-girl wasn't allowed to fight, but Cherry began to realize that she could fight and win for both of them.

She just made a new friend.

* * *

><p>AN: part of why I decided to end the last chapter where I did was because of Cherry and Claire's conversation. I was in the middle of it and realized it was going to be pretty darn long. They wound up having a lot to say to each other.<p>

Btw, I got Pokemon Y yesterday. I haven't played a whole lot just yet, but I made it to Lumiose City and got Bulbasaur for my second starter. Now I have my newest starter and my first starter in the same team…the nostalgia is awesome

I told you I was old.

Anyways, that'll do it for this week.

Thanks for reading!


	86. The Man Behind the Tournament

Chapter 84

Mark began to wonder if six people were really necessary for tracking down one, small Charmander-girl. Of course, there was no one to blame but himself for this situation. He wished that he had known what to say to calm Cherry down. Now she might not want to fight in the tournament at all.

Quickstep led the group. He marched forward at a quick pace, hardly ever looking back to check if the others were still with him. Whether the rest of them fell behind or not was not a concern of his.

Mark had no idea what to make of him. He showed little concern for the others, but that didn't seem to stop Maple from liking him. Thanks to the rain, she had been quiet and depressed most of the day, but Quickstep's presence certainly lifted her mood. Even if the difference was only slight, Mark could tell.

Behind them, Kim, Sprinkle and a loud, grumbling Volt rounded out their group. If Quickstep really did know where Cherry was, then it was entirely unnecessary for them to come along. Even still, Mark was glad for their support.

"How much farther?" he asked Quickstep.

"Not too much," he answered, "ten, fifteen minutes. Something like that."

Mark nodded and fell back in step behind him, letting the rain fill the silence.

The scenery around them began to change. As small as Himitsu Island was, each area had a different feel to it. The center of the island always felt like a large city to Mark, but the outskirts felt distinctly suburban. Only a few miles separated them, making the contrast even more drastic. When Mark had fought with Maple, she ran away towards the woods, but what was it about this part of the island that made Cherry run here?

With the exception of Quickstep, the others in the group seemed as equally fascinated by the difference. They had no reason to explore this area of the island so it had remained a mystery.

"This is how most of the island used to look," Quickstep sighed, reluctant to play the role of tour guide, "before Silph came in and started development. This is the wealthiest section, though. Town council members and such. They'll die before they let him change anything else."

"I see," Mark answered. He didn't pretend to understand what Quickstep was talking about. Probably none of them did. But there was a history here that Quickstep had been a part of.

"Most of them don't like human Pokémon," Quickstep went on, "so don't stick around for too long once we get your Charmander back."

"Okay," Mark nodded. Once again, something was happening that he didn't understand. Taking Quickstep's word for it was really all that he could do.

"How come?" Maple asked.

"Ehhh…tough to explain," Quickstep began, "suffice to say, none of these people like change and human Pokémon are pretty much the embodiment of that change."

"Oh…" she was lost immediately.

"Just around that corner," Quickstep nodded towards an intersection three blocks away, "almost there." He increased his pace, nearly jogging as they came up to the intersection.

About another half-block further down the road, Mark could see what must have been a pre-school. There was a small playground out front and, sure enough, he could see two small children with tails swinging back and forth on the swing-set.

_A school?_ Mark thought. Quickstep had not told them where they were going. Yet somehow, it made sense that they would find Cherry at a place like that. As they came closer, he could hear Cherry and her new friend giggling as they swung back and forth. A wave of relief washed over him that Mark hadn't even realized he needed. She was okay and actually having a good time. He breathed deep.

"The hell?" Quickstep peered at them, "I thought she was alone…is that…? Get the hell out of here!"

Mark did not have a human-Pokémon's keen eyesight, but even Maple was confused by what the human Mienshao was saying. They had to step inside the fence before Mark could recognize Cherry's swing partner as a small Skitty-girl.

"Hi, Mark! Hi, Maple!" Cherry called out from the top of her swing.

"Hi, Cherry!" Maple called back, "looks like fun!"

"Uh-huh! You should try it!"

"Maybe when it's nicer," Maple declined. Mark was oddly quiet, so she kept going, "who's this?"

"Oh, this is Claire! Claire, this is Maple and my trainer, Mark!"

"Nice to meet you!" the Skitty-girl called down, "your match in the first round was awesome!"

"Thank you!" Maple called back. Unsure of what else to do, she glanced over at Mark.

He hesitated. Out of the scenarios he had pictured in his head, this was not one of them. He expected Cherry to still be upset, ready to lash out at him and run away a second time. Instead she was smiling and playing with another Pokémon-girl. Could it be a trick to get back at him? Would Cherry do something like that? Still confused by the situation, Mark took a step forward.

"Cherry," he started, "could you come down here?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do," Mark nodded, "it's cold and wet. It's time to go back." He had never felt like her father more than he did in that moment.

"Aww…" she groaned, "…okay." Mark could hardly believe his ears, but Cherry began to slow her swing. "Bye, Claire!"

"Bye!"

Cherry jumped off of her swing and stepped forward to join Mark and Maple. The difference in her mood was astounding.

"Feeling better?" Mark asked. He needed to be careful, but he still needed to know how she really felt.

"Uh-huh," she nodded.

"You're not still mad at me?"

"Nope."

Mark couldn't help staring. Just like that, she was back to normal. What had he missed?

"It's okay if I can't evolve," Cherry explained, "you still let me battle. And I got really strong, really quick because you helped me," she tugged on Mark's arm until he leaned forward and she could hug him, "thank you."

Mark blinked a few times. Shock and pride battled for supremacy inside of him. He got the sense that Maple was looking down at them and beaming. He had expected to have to comfort Cherry, but instead she was comforting him. It felt like when he had first met Cherry, only with their roles reversed.

"Okay," he managed to speak, "let's go back, then." He pulled away from Cherry and stood up. Though she was far too big for it, she insisted on holding his hand.

"Wait…Quickie? Is that you?" Claire spoke up, recognizing Quickstep.

"Yep, it's me," the human Mienshao answered, "Did you make a new friend, Claire?"

"Yep!" Claire chirped as she began to slow her swing.

"I see," Quickstep humored the small girl, "your dad doesn't mind you playing in the rain, does he?"

"Oh…uh…" Claire hesitated as she looked at her wet dress, "probably…" Her face sunk with sadness.

"There's no potion for the flu, you know," Quickstep continued.

"I know, but…but…" she stammered, looking for an excuse.

"It's not her fault!" Cherry spoke up, "she was just showing me how to use the swings!"

"It's okay, I'm just teasing," Quickstep snickered, though no one joined him, "where is your dad, anyway?"

"In a meeting," Claire answered, happy to forget about her only slightly wet dress, "he told me to wait outside until he was done."

"Do you want me to wait with you?" he offered.

"No!"

"Do you want _us_ to wait with you?" Mark volunteered.

"Sure!"

Mark suppressed a grin at his small victory over Quickstep.

"Alright, but let's get out of the rain and dry off," Mark suggested.

"Okay," Claire came over to stand with Cherry as Mark led the group beneath the overhang in front of the school.

"Say…" Kim spoke up for the first time since their trip began, "who is your dad?"

"Umm…" Claire hesitated, "I'm not supposed to say…" She looked to Cherry.

"It's okay," Cherry told her, "this is Kim and her human Pokémon. We're good friends with them."

"Oh, okay," that seemed to clear Claire's conscience, "my daddy's name is Alfred Silph. He runs the whole tournament!"

Mark's head snapped around as he turned to look at the little Skitty-girl. He stared wide-eyed for a few seconds, briefly unable to accept what she had said. But Claire was completely serious. Next he turned to Kim, who was only slightly less shocked.

"Does he now?" she continued, her voice shaking.

"Uh-huh!" Claire proudly confirmed, "We go to all of the matches! Yours was really fun!"

"Umm…thank you," Kim nodded.

"You're really good! I've seen people with four human Pokémon who aren't as good as you!"

"Really? Uh…thanks," Kim had no idea how to react in the presence of someone who liked her more than Sprinkle.

Mark stood wondering about Claire and her "father" while they waited. His thoughts drifted back to what Kim had said after exploring the Team Deus base. To build the facility, it would take enormous amounts of money and resources. Not only that, but to keep it all a secret, it most likely would have been built alongside the development of downtown Himitsu Island. The only person who would have access to that much power was Alfred Silph.

If that was true, that Alfred Silph was responsible for financing the Team Deus base, then Claire was the daughter of a very powerful crime lord.

But something wasn't adding up. Hadn't Cherry said before that she had belonged to the boss's son? Did that mean Claire had a human brother? Or did that mean they had the wrong idea about Silph?

"So, Claire," Mark began, "do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Nuh-uh," Claire shook her head, "just me and my daddy."

No brother. So he wasn't in charge of Team Deus. Mark supposed he could still be a member, but it was starting to feel wrong.

Even still, what reason was there for Silph to create an entire tournament from scratch on a small island? It still made perfect sense that the tournament was a ploy. Something to lure in human Pokémon for Team Deus to capture. Mark had no idea if he was onto something or not, but he shuddered to think what was going to happen if he was right.

So they all waited. Wondering who Alfred Silph really was.

A few minutes later, Maple faintly heard the sound of a door opening close by.

"Ah, there he is," Quickstep announced, "I'll go get him."

"Huh?" Mark asked, but even he could hear a man's voice begin to shout "Claire!" Quickstep trotted down to the street, waving his long sleeves as he tried to get Silph's attention.

Mark braced himself as a tall, well-dressed figure crossed the street and walked in front of the fence around the school. He had seen Alfred Silph before, but meeting him face-to-face would be entirely different from watching him give a speech.

"Daddy!" Claire cried, rushing forward as he came through the gate. Her father bent down and scooped her up, propping her against his shoulder.

"Hi there, kitten!" he greeted, "…you're all wet."

"Oh, umm…" Claire searched for a distraction, "I made some new friends! This is Cherry and her trainer Mark and their friends!" Mark stepped forward with Cherry to be inspected by Silph.

"Did you?" Silph asked, choosing to momentarily ignore Claire's evasiveness, "it's nice to meet all of you," he shook Mark's hand with a strong, well-practiced handshake, "It's nice to see Claire playing with friends like her. Outstanding."

"Uh, it's nice to meet you too," Mark returned.

"Wait a second…" Silph held up a figure and pointed it at Maple, "a Leafeon? Ah! You're the Mark that entered the tournament with one human Pokémon! Well, congratulations on your bravery."

"Bravery?" it seemed like an odd word choice to Mark. It certainly hadn't felt like bravery at the time.

"Oh, but even more congratulations on your victory!" Silph continued, heedless of Mark's confusion, "creative and stunning. I hope you can keep it up!"

"Uh, thanks…"

"I showed Cherry how to use the swings!" Claire added.

"You did? That's great!" Silph turned and beamed at his daughter before turning back to Mark and Cherry, "so your name's Cherry?"

"Yes, sir," Cherry nodded, somewhat intimidated by Silph's height and trimmed suit.

"Well, that is a lovely name, Cherry."

"T-thank you…"

"Say, now I have an idea," Silph paused and waited.

"What's that?" Mark asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Silph smiled and accepted the cue, "all of you seem like very nice people and I'd love for Claire and Cherry to get the chance to spend some more time together. Now, I'm a bit busy, running around to boring meetings and such, but were any of you planning on attending this afternoon's match? RiverofTears will be participating, so it's sure to be exciting."

"Uhh…" Mark hesitated. None of them had really planned that far ahead just yet.

"Better yet," Silph went on, "you don't have to give me an answer right now, just take this," he reached into his front pocket and produced a small, silver card, "all you need to do is show that to the attendant at the gate and tell them I'll meet you in my box. They are excellent seats, and we never miss a match."

Mark took the card and peered at it. The card was reflective silver over the whole surface with the Silph Co. logo stamped on both sides.

"Alright, we'll see you then," Silph did not wait for an answer. He turned and began talking to Claire as a very expensive-looking car drove up to the front of the school. He set her down and opened the door himself, bowing like a servant would for a princess.

"She's almost sickeningly sweet, isn't she?" Quickstep asked no one in particular as the car drove away, "she's not _really_ his daughter, if that's what you're thinking. Not biologically, anyway."

"What is she, then?" Kim asked, "She's not his daughter, he's not a trainer. The father-daughter act seemed pretty convincing to me…what's the deal?"

"Got me," Quickstep shrugged, "I've asked Astral about it, but he keeps saying 'It's too personal,' or some lame excuse like that," he started to walk away, "anyways, I guess that's my cue to exit, as well. You got your Charmander and an invitation to a fancy party, clearly my work here is done."

"Oh, uhh…thank you," Mark stammered, "we never would have found her if-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Quickstep waved him off, "just remember that big brother Astral is watching all of you. The damned, nosy, busy-body," once again he directed a comment towards the sky, "_you can't tell me you don't like it_!"

"Wait," Mark called out, "who's Astral?"

"Human Bronzong with psychic powers and stuff like that," Quickstep half-explained, "have her tell you." He nodded towards Maple before turning to leave. He waved once more as he walked away.

"Aww, hell yeah," Volt grinned with enthusiasm next to Mark as he looked at the silver card in his hand.

"Umm…are you coming?" Mark asked him.

"Box seats?" Kim spoke up, "you're damn right we're coming. I don't even care if he meant us or not."

"Oh, okay…hey, Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"You said before that you thought Alfred Silph was in charge of Team Deus, right?"

"Yeah, I did," Kim nodded.

"Are you sure?"

She shrugged, "honestly, I guess it's still possible, but after that, I don't really want to believe it."

"Right," Mark nodded, "me neither."

"But if Astral says he's okay, then that means he's okay," Maple insisted.

"Who is Astral?" Mark asked again, growing tired of wondering.

"Umm…he's a human Bronzong," Maple repeated what Quickstep had said, "and he can read minds."

"What?"

"He reads minds," Maple said again, "that's how he knew where Cherry was. And he told me how to find you after I met him…"

Mark stared, processing the new information like a slow internet connection. "You met a human Pokémon that can read minds?"

"Uh-huh," Maple nodded, "we were…so I…"

"Never mind," Mark closed his eyes, "this changes a lot…it means Silph's innocent."

"Good to hear…in a way," Kim shrugged.

"In a way…" Mark repeated, "if not him, then who?"

No one had an answer. And apparently the Four had access to a mind-reader who didn't know either. What exactly were they up against?

* * *

><p>AN: bad news, friends and neighbors. Overtime has kicked in again, which explains my delay and, sadly, I'm not really sure when it's going to let up again. So, more infrequent than usual updates for a little while, but I'll try my best.<p>

A few things I wanted to note concerning X & Y and this particular story. Some of my usual information sources are still a bit behind, so, I'm going to refrain from editing old stuff, just yet. But, from what I know, Xerneas and Yvetal should not have a major impact on the story and neither should mega-evolution or any other new additions. Megastones would be banned in the tournament (nobody uses items anyway) and I think Dialga and Palkia would really just pretend Xerneas and Yvetal don't exist at all.

However, I did mention before that dragon and ghost Pokemon age more slowly than others (for the purposes of this fan fiction, anyway). I'd also like to include rock and ground in this group (possibly with some exceptions) as aging very slowly, but I'd also like to say that Fairy types don't age at all. They reach a certain maturity and simply stop aging. This actually keeps in line with several Pokemon that appear in X & Y (no spoilers) but makes sense to me anyway.

That being said, ALL human Pokemon age like regular humans.

I guess that's it, for now. I'll see you when I see you.

Thanks for reading!


	87. Rachel Sapphire

Chapter 85

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked her mother, "We're…moving?"

"Yes, dear," she sat down on the bed, next to Rachel, "your dad's found a new job, on the mainland. It's much more money and it'll be in a nice town, with good schools. You and your brother can get a better education there."

"A 'better education?'" Rachel stopped at that thought, "I already go to school here. And that's on top of training with granddad."

"Yes, I know," her mother nodded, "but if you go to a better high school, you'll get into a better college and-"

"And you want me to give up Pokémon training," Rachel finished for her mother.

"Well…you don't have to stop right away…" her mother paused. Rachel suspected she didn't know how to respond. Though her father had been a Pokémon trainer, her mother never had. The idea was strange to her. She probably thought it was a reckless, irresponsible career choice. If she thought of it as a career, at all. She didn't want her children to run off, miss school and ruin their lives for some romantic fantasy of traveling and fighting.

"You can always find time to train between school-work," she concluded.

"Uh-huh…" Rachel nodded, though her tone was sarcastic, "you need to collect badges to compete, mom."

"Then we can drive you," Rachel's mom uttered the one idea that was a blasphemy to every true Pokémon trainer.

Leaving home to collect your badges was a rite of passage. You were on your own. You were either one of the few that came back a success, or you were one of the many that couldn't make it on your own. Either way, you succeeded or you failed on your own; without your parents helping you along. Your parents never drove you to a gym match and blew kisses as you challenged the leader for the right to the title of Pokémon Master.

Rachel couldn't help but shudder at the idea.

"Well, it's not like you'd be able to get badges staying here," a slight edge was added to her mother's voice.

"I know…" Rachel admitted, "but I like it here…" She hadn't yet told her mother about the two boys that were staying on the island. It had only been three weeks, but she was starting to like them…a lot.

At first, she thought they would leave, like every other traveling Pokémon trainer. Palkia's Woods was interesting and drew a fair bit of attention, but its mystery had never been solved and it grew boring quickly. Most trainers would leave after no more than a week. Yet those two boys stayed.

Rachel spent most of her free time with them; time that was supposed to be spent training. In a way, she was, because they battled often. She never had anyone her own age to battle with. More than that, they were good. Rachel beat most of the traveling Pokémon trainers that visited Himitsu with no trouble, but those two were much better than the others. Rachel often lost to them, but she was learning and getting better.

Still, she never expected it to last, until about a week earlier, when her granddad came looking for her and found her with the two boys. He often held back when training with Rachel, but when the two challenged him, he did no such thing and beat them both. Afterwards, they practically begged her granddad to teach them. Now the four of them trained and battled together. Rachel had never been so happy to be living on Himitsu Island.

"You do?" her mother asked, incredulous, but she smiled after a moment, "when did this happen?"

"Umm…" Rachel didn't have a response that wouldn't give away her secret. In truth, she didn't like Himitsu Island before the boys came. Training with her granddad had been the only welcome distraction from what was otherwise a very boring, small life. If she had heard about the idea of moving to the mainland a month ago, she would've cheered. But that was a month ago.

"Come on, tell me," her mother prodded, playfully. She was a teenager once. "Is there a boy at school?"

"Not school…" Rachel couldn't keep the smile from her face. It was a secret, but she wasn't sure why. Still, keeping it secret made it…special, somehow.

"Well…" her mother continued prodding, "who is it?"

"Umm…" she hesitated, "two…actually."

"Two?!" her mother gasped, over-exaggerating her surprise. Her daughter had never shown interest in boys before. This was a parenting moment she had been looking forward to.

"I can't decide," Rachel started blushing, embarrassed at herself, but more embarrassed at her mother, "I like them both…"

"Aww…" her mother grinned, "I know. The heart's a strange thing." She patted her daughter's shoulder. She took a breath before asking again. "Well, who are these handsome gentlemen that have caught my lovely daughter's eye?"

"Umm…" again, Rachel felt reluctant to reveal the secret, "They're Pokémon trainers."

"Oh…I see…" her mother nodded.

"They've been here almost a whole month, now," sensing a change in her mother's attitude, Rachel went on, "I've been training with them and we all keep getting better. Granddad's even started training us all together."

"Ah…" all of the pieces fell into place as Rachel's mother considered the new information, "that's why you want to stay." Her tone was serious, once again. Serious, responsible, adult…Rachel didn't like it.

"Uhh…yeah…" Rachel's heart sank. Had it all been a trap? Her mother had teased her like another teenager. Was it to make her lower her guard? She felt cheated. _Here it comes_, she thought.

"Honey…" her mother sighed, "I know what you're going through. It's tough to think about the future when it seems so far away. It'd be easy to just run away from your responsibilities and chase after boys and far-off dreams. But, Rachel, you're a young woman now and you need to start thinking with more responsibility," she paused to let her words sink in, "the mainland will be good for you. A better school will mean a better future, for you. Trust me." She stood up to leave Rachel alone.

Rachel thought for a moment. "Why did you marry Dad?" she asked, suddenly.

"Huh?" her mother turned back, "where did that come from?"

"Please," Rachel sighed, "just answer me."

"Rachel, if this is about Pokémon training, then remember that your situation is very different from your father's," she dodged Rachel's question.

"He was a trainer, wasn't he?" Rachel pressed, "It didn't exactly ruin his life. Or do you think it did?"

"Rachel! Don't talk like that!" her mother shouted at her, "I love your father and just because he trained Pokémon when he was young that doesn't make it any less true! He's worked hard to get where he is…for all of us," she took a calming breath before continuing, "Pokémon training just isn't stable. Your father gave it up for good reasons."

"And granddad?" Rachel pressed further, "He made a good living off of it. He never had to give it up."

"Yes," her mother sighed, "but they're both exceptions. Please, Rachel, try to understand."

"I understand," she nodded, calmly, "you're forcing me away from what I want right when I finally know what that is."

Her mother hesitated, wondering what to do with her child. She saw all of the potential in her, all of the paths she could take through life. Which was the best road for her? Which one would keep her safe and let her be happy? Did she even know?

"Think it over," she told her daughter.

* * *

><p>Rachel did think it over. That is, she spent the next two months convincing her parents to let her stay behind. The agreement was that she would still finish school on Himitsu Island while training and her grandfather would stay to watch over her. So the girl that would become RiverofTears stayed behind on the island she had hated most of her life, while her father, mother and younger brother moved to the mainland to live normal lives. She was fourteen, at the time.<p>

Eight years passed and neither Rachel, nor her mother, expected the path that her life had followed thus far. All in all, between her grandfather and her father, her own Pokémon career felt more like her father's. It was becoming a burden that she had less and less time for. She had new responsibilities, a new life. RiverofTears was a part of her life that only haunted her now.

The feeling was always the worst during moments like the one she had to suffer that afternoon.

"Do you know what you want yet, kitten?" Alfred Silph asked his "daughter" Claire as she looked over the kids' menu.

"Mmm-hmm," the Skitty-girl nodded. She held up the menu and pointed, "That one."

"Chicken fingers?!" Silph exclaimed, "Good choice!"

Rachel resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was supposed to find the whole thing adorable. Admittedly, she did, but she was also well aware that Silph was trying to subtly manipulate the situation. Claire didn't really know that she was being exploited, either. She was sweet and innocent, like the girl Rachel wanted to have someday. But before that, she had to deal with Silph.

They were sitting in the booth of a family restaurant just outside the tournament center of the island. Silph was over-dressed, as usual, and Claire had on a tan dress that was slightly damp from the rain. Rachel was dressed casually in a T-shirt and jeans. She had considered wearing something more business-like, but had decided that Silph wanted to talk to RiverofTears, not Rachel Sapphire, the youngest member in the history of the Himitsu Island city council. She had to employ her own subtle methods, after all.

As she looked over the menu, she further pondered how she should go about this. According to the rumors, Silph was trying to convince several Himitsu Island officials to let him expand his influence. The center of the town was all basically owned by Silph. If left to his own devices, he'd probably buy up the rest of the island. That left it up to Rachel to convince him to stop.

For better or worse, Silph was the real reason she had the position that she did. As RiverofTears, she knew Silph personally. She knew how he thought and what he wanted. The town picked her because he was their biggest problem, and she was supposed to know how to deal with him.

At the heart of it, her new position was still her old life following her around. But she knew what she was doing. Despite being a token member, her influence was building and she was learning the political game as well as she had known Pokémon. The two had no relation and it often baffled those around her how a Pokémon trainer, with no collegiate background stood a chance in their world. Nevertheless, she worked hard, learned her new trade and did her best to overcome the past that followed her everywhere.

She was Rachel Sapphire, but for the time being, she'd have to play her cards right and be RiverofTears.

"You're getting big!" Rachel exclaimed, turning to Claire, "how old are you, now?"

"Nine," Claire said, proudly.

"Really?" Rachel gasped, "So, you've started school, then?"

"Uhh…well…" Claire hesitated.

"Claire has a small set of tutors teaching her," Silph supplied the answer, "she's up to a fifth grade level and learning more every day."

"Uh-huh," Claire nodded agreement.

"Although," Silph began, "speaking of schools-"

"See any good matches this year?" Rachel continued, ignoring Silph's attempt to get to business.

"Uh-huh!" Claire brightened, "a bunch!"

"Really?" Rachel grinned at the Skitty-girl, "what was your favorite?" She glanced quickly at Silph, studying the slight strain on his face. If he could exploit Claire, then so could she.

Unfortunately, before the Skitty-girl could begin, the waiter arrived to take their orders. Rachel was treated to another scene of family wholesomeness when Silph encouraged the shy Claire to tell the nice man what her order was. Briefly, she wondered what this meeting might look like to an outsider. Probably a family lunch with dad and his two daughters.

When the waiter had gone again, it was Silph who spoke first.

"You know," he began, "I never had the chance to properly thank you for participating in the tournament, this year. Claire was fit to burst when I told her."

"The town could use the money," Rachel half-answered. That part was true. Some of the more conservative members of the council might disagree, but the tournament's boost to the island's economy was unmistakable. Even after only two years running and three years off, the downtime could be felt. Agreeing to participate hadn't earned her any points at her job, but Himitsu was growing to need the tournament.

She also had more personal reasons for competing again. Her new life had started, but pieces of her old one were still missing.

"Have you talked to him yet?" Silph asked, "Your grandfather, I mean."

"No," Rachel sighed. That last bit was meant to toy with her. Silph was well aware of the rumors surrounding all of the Four, "I haven't spoken to any of the others."

"That's a shame," Silph shook his head, "you were always so good together…"

Rachel began tapping her foot to hide her annoyance. The conversation was slipping out of her control. She wondered if wearing something more formal might have helped convince Silph he wasn't dealing with a little girl anymore. RiverofTears or Rachel Sapphire, which did she need to be to do her job?

"That was a long time ago," she told Silph, running her hand over her engagement ring, "people change, you know."

"That they do," he nodded, "I hear that you're a member of the city council now. Congratulations."

"Thank you," she nodded, "it won't be easy, but I've lived here my whole life. I just want to help provide Himitsu Island with what it needs," she paused, "and protect it from what it doesn't need."

"Well said," Silph smiled, "I'm sure some young blood and fresh ideas should do wonders for this town."

Their food arrived as Rachel thought about the best way to persuade Silph to back off. She was certain he was ready to pitch his ideas at her. He might even try to use her as his own personal representative on the council. That was out of the question. She couldn't bend to the man. No matter how much he offered. No matter how much he talked about the past. She had to prove he was talking to Rachel Sapphire, not RiverofTears.

"Well, I suppose we should start to talk business," Silph declared as he finished cutting Claire's chicken fingers into smaller, bite-sized pieces.

"Alright," Rachel nodded, "what did you have in mind?"

"Well," he began, "as you know, the Evolution Cup has grown larger and larger each time it's been held. The first year, we barely had enough participants to run three rounds. The second year, four rounds. Now we're up to a full five rounds and nearly three-hundred human Pokémon.

"That means that the number of human Pokémon in the world is increasing and word of this little tournament is spreading. More human Pokémon means we can put on a larger tournament, which means more money for Himitsu and bring in more people. More people, bigger tournament and everything grows and grows. See? It's all cyclical."

Rachel nodded, if only to indicate that she was still paying attention. It was a fairly standard sales-pitch, nothing too outstanding.

"This is all perfectly logical," Silph dismissed his own small speech, "but what I want to propose is bigger than that," he leaned in, as if sharing the code to a bank vault, "what if, and bare with me here, there was a way that some of the people that went to the tournament could live here?"

"What?" Rachel said, flatly. He really did want to own the entire island. He wanted to make it into a kind of hidden sanctuary for human Pokémon. Rachel was suddenly very worried that her word would mean little to Silph.

"Well, bare with me," Silph repeated, "This isn't something that could happen overnight. But I think we just need to start with the basics. I want to establish a school for human Pokémon. Just for human Pokémon."

"Okay," Rachel nodded, patiently waiting for him to finish.

"Now, we both know that human Pokémon don't evolve totally ready to live with humans. Most of them have to hide what they really are and very few know basic math or even how to read and write. So, in order to help these people, I want to build a school where any and all human Pokémon are welcome to come and learn the basic skills they need for life as a full-fledged human."

"And you want to build it…"

"Here, of course," Silph beamed, "we already have so many trainers and human Pokémon coming here, why not give them a reason to stay and better themselves?"

Rachel nodded once more, soaking in the idea.

"And what about the people that already live here?" Rachel asked, "What do you expect them to do when all of these trainers and human Pokémon come here to live? What happens to them?"

"Well, they wouldn't have to _leave_," Silph countered, "we can just build new housing for students. Like a college."

"So you want to build a college, now," Rachel was beginning to lose patience, "Himitsu doesn't exactly have much room to spare. There's nowhere left to build, unless you want to try cutting down Palkia's Woods. But, believe me, _it's been tried_."

"We can find room," Silph dismissed her, offhand, "we built the hotel and the stadium, didn't we?"

"No," Rachel shook her head, "_you_ did. And the only reason anyone let you is because no one thought you'd actually do it!"

"So? We can prove them all wrong again," Silph insisted, "you have to know that this is the right thing to do. Come on. Help me help these people and let me build a school. Please, River."

Of course. Of course he would call her that name instead of her real one. She was still RiverofTears to him, one of the three children that trained human Pokémon and helped him build a tournament to showcase them. She helped him then, and she helped him again to restart it. But she wouldn't help him anymore.

"These are simple people that live here, Mr. Silph," Rachel began her final argument, "simple people that live off of the ocean and are slow to change. Will they welcome neighbors that have horns, tails and who knows what else? No, they won't. They tolerate me because I'm from here, but they only _tolerate_ me. I don't want to think about what they say about the others behind closed doors.

"And what about when all of these human Pokémon graduate? Hmm?" she went on, "where will they go? Where will they find jobs? Even if by some miracle the residents here put aside their fears, there is no work here that isn't already filled. Where does that leave us? Pokémon trainers make money by battling with each other and wagering on the outcome. That's _gambling_, Mr. Silph. Now, what happens when a bunch of out-of-work gamblers start to run out of money? I think you can see where this is going."

The thought struck her like a blow to the face.

Rachel hadn't realized it until it was too late. She closed her eyes and suppressed the feeling as best as she could. She had to tell herself that this was the right decision. It was the stable, responsible decision. She hated it, but knew it was right.

The moment she had said those words, she had turned into her mother.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Silph," Rachel opened her eyes and extended her hand, "but I'm going to have to ask you to build your school somewhere else."

* * *

><p>AN: holy crap, I'm finally back! Miss me? Did you think I was never coming back? Well, to be honest, I wasn't so sure myself there, for a while…but I am back!<p>

In related news, and the real reason I'm here at all, honestly: I quit my job. This is good news and bad news, but mostly good news for you, because while I scramble for new employment, I'm going to start posting again, and more often. We'll start with twice a week (Thursday and Sunday) and, from there, we'll see how bored I get. I might start posting more often than that, but we'll see. YAY, I'M BACK!

So, I kinda wish I had a better note to return on than this rather depressing chapter. the irony of writing about characters giving up Pokemon while being forced to give it up myself was not very enjoyable either (seriously, you try working 65 hours a week for months on end) But, anyways, Cara vs. RiverofTears is right around the corner.

I guess I'll leave it at that right now.

YAY! I'M BACK!


	88. Letting Go

Chapter 86

"We're going to lose, you know," Sparks grumbled as he finished his sandwich, "us versus one of the best trainers on the island and four versus six. I don't mean to alarm anybody, but we're screwed."

As he looked around the table, however, his words did not have the kind of effect he expected them to. He couldn't even be sure if anyone had heard him. Ebony was struggling to stay awake, Trine was drumming on the table with his silverware, Mano and Duon were accusing each other of being out of tune at the end of the concert, and Serenade and Cara were both bent over Cara's phone as she looked over their new budget. No one looked up.

"Hey!" he tried again, louder, "we are right and truly screwed! Am I the only one who cares?"

"Yes," Ebony yawned, "we are very screwed. It happens. Now, shut up." She adjusted her hat over her eyes, intending to sleep for the next ten or fifteen minutes as the others finished eating.

"And that doesn't bother you?" Sparks raised an eyebrow.

"No."

Giving up on the Honchkrow-woman, Sparks tried the others. Maybe if he asked Cara directly…

"Hey, Cara," he tried.

"…minus food, minus travel expenses…am I missing anything?" she turned to Serenade and the Jynx-woman shook her head, "then that leaves us with…"

"HEY! Cara!" Sparks shouted.

"Not now," she waved him away, "I'm budgeting. We need to make this money last."

"What about the match?"

"What match?"

"The one we have to go to in half-an-hour," Sparks stared at his trainer, "shouldn't we be planning for that?"

Cara stared back, "I don't see why. We're going to lose."

"What? Are we giving up, or something?" Sparks looked around. Was he the crazy one or the only sane one?

"We're not forfeiting," Cara explained, "if that's what you mean."

"Try to keep up, sweetie," Serenade smiled at him.

"Don't you mock me!" Sparks yelled, losing his patience.

"Settle down, Sparks," Cara said, calmly, "I don't think I ever told all of you, anyway."

"Tell us what?" he asked.

"I…never really planned on trying to win the tournament," she shrugged, "never really wanted to battle."

"What? Why?"

"We're not here for the tournament," she reminded him, "we're here to put on a few shows, make some money and go home. I entered us in the tournament more to advertise than anything else."

"Advertise the band? That's it?" the anger was fading from his voice now.

"Yeah…" Cara shrugged, "that's it."

"Seriously?" this time Sparks was asking the air. There was nothing left in his voice but disappointment. He was the only one that wanted to win. He was the only one that even cared.

Cara had to feel sorry for him. Of all of her human Pokémon, Sparks was the one that missed battling the most. Their first tournament match had been against an inexperienced newcomer with only two human Pokémon and not much talent. Serenade and Ebony dealt with that, easily enough, while Sparks stayed on the sidelines. Before that, their last battle hadn't happened in months.

The human Luxray needed a strong opponent, competition, or at least some action. The band ate up most of the group's time. But Sparks had no part in that and nothing to do to occupy himself. The biggest match of their lives as human Pokémon was less than an hour away. But Sparks was the only one who saw it that way.

Cara had no more time for training or competitions. That part of her life was over and was just a collection of memories. It had been fun while it lasted, but everyone grew up eventually.

But where did that leave Sparks and Ebony who weren't really involved with the band? What could they do? She had no answer.

Cara's thoughts drifted to even darker ideas. Ideas like: what if the band failed? What would happen to them all if the band wasn't enough? She was sitting there budgeting out all of their expenses for the next year. What about the year after that? And the year after that?

She took a moment to clear her head. They had just finished their biggest show ever the night before. She shouldn't be worrying, she should be celebrating. They should all be getting drunk and passing out on the floor of their hotel room. Well, the band should. She was still the manager. Actually, given Ebony's high tolerance for alcohol, it would be incredibly expensive for them to get drunk at all, let alone pass out.

At any rate, Sparks probably had the right idea. A battle. A tough battle with RiverofTears. She wouldn't win, but she could still have some fun.

"I'm sorry, Sparks," Cara sighed, "you're right."

"I am?" he sat up, "I mean, yeah, of course I'm right. So, what do we do?"

"You're going out first," she told him.

"Awesome, awesome," Sparks nodded, leaning over their table, "good start. Uhh…what about after that?"

"Hmm…" Cara thought for a minute, "I don't know…we'll see what happens."

"Huh?" Sparks's jaw dropped open.

"We'll see what happens," Cara repeated.

Defeated once more, the human Luxray sank back into his chair. "You people suck…" he muttered.

Cara put a hand over her mouth to hide her smirk. She checked the time, on her phone.

"C'mon," she told the others, "somebody nudge Ebony. We need to get going."

* * *

><p>The rain continued its steady pace as Mark, Maple and the others made their way to the stadium for that afternoon's match. There was no telling when it would stop, but that wouldn't change the schedule. The field could be muddy and covered with puddles and the match would still continue.<p>

At the gate, Mark nervously showed the attendant the silver card that Silph had given him, hoping he didn't need to explain himself any further. The whole thing had happened in such a rush that he never had the chance to ask what to do if it didn't work. However, his fears were groundless and the attendant led the group of two humans and four human Pokémon up the stairs to Silph's private box without argument.

"Mr. Silph will be with you shortly," the attendant instructed as he opened the door, "please make yourselves comfortable."

Mark had never been in box seating before. In fact, he had never really understood how and why they were supposed to be so much more special than the normal stadium seats. But even he could tell that these were not normal box seats.

The room was set up more like an office meeting room than anything else. An oval table with ten plush, high-backed chairs was the center-piece of the room. The table had a variety of hors d'oeuvres set out with no less than seven different dips. Mark could only guess that Silph used his box as a meeting room, as well. But what drew everyone's attention was the enormous floor-to-ceiling glass window overlooking the stadium.

Maple and Cherry each rushed over to look out on the field below. They were positioned perfectly in the center of the field, and though they were hundreds of feet up, it still somehow felt close.

"It's like we're floating in the air," Maple mused as she pressed her hand against the glass. She leaned forward against it to enhance the feeling, but slowly, just in case they really were floating in the air and the glass was an illusion.

"Wow…" Kim nodded as she looked around the room, "good work, noob."

"I didn't do anything…" Mark admitted, "If anything, thank Cherry."

"Huh?" the Charmander-girl turned back from the enormous window, "what'd I do?"

"Scored us awesome seats, that's what!" Volt declared as he picked up a pretzel, chose a random dip and began eating.

"Hey! We don't know if that's for us!" Kim scolded him.

"Oh, please," he dismissed her warning as he moved to try another, "they'll never notice."

"They will if you eat it all," Sprinkle teased. Nevertheless, she peered at the spread, bending over the table as she did so and earning a few glances from the boys.

"How long 'til the match starts?" Kim asked, attempting to divert their attention.

"Uh, about twenty minutes," Mark answered, "we're still a little early."

Silph and Claire didn't arrive for another ten minutes. By that time, Volt had emptied half of one of the dip jars and eaten most of the pretzels and Maple and Cherry had rolled several of the chairs over to the window.

"Claire!" Cherry called from the center of the window, "I saved you a seat!"

"Thank you!" the Skitty-girl cheered as she trotted over to join her new friend. The girls crowded around the row of chairs. Cherry took the center with Claire at her right and Maple at her left. Kim sat next to Maple, with Sprinkle at her left. The boys were still standing, and since Volt was still experimenting with dips and hors d'oeuvres, that left it to Mark to greet their host.

"Uh, it's nice to see you again," Mark stuck out his hand, "uh, sir."

"Haha," Silph chuckled as he shook Mark's hand, "no need for the 'sir.' That's only if you work for me. You don't work for me, do you?"

"Uh, no," Mark shook his head.

"Ah," Silph nodded. He seemed genuinely unsure if Mark worked for him or not. "Then call me Al. Or Silph. Most people around here call me 'Silph' or 'Mr. Silph.' I don't care for 'Mr. Silph' either, though. Too formal."

"Uh, Silph, I guess," Mark settled for the middle ground.

"There we go," Silph grinned, "I apologize for being late. I had a meeting over lunch which ran unexpectedly long."

"Oh, it's no problem."

"Oh, I should tell you, though," Silph grinned, despite the fact that his tone suggested it was a warning, "the match will probably start a few minutes late, as well. You see, I was meeting with RiverofTears, at the time."

"What?!" Kim's chair spun around and the girl was on her feet in moments, "you talked to who?!"

"A RiverofTears fan, I take it?" Silph's grin grew wider.

"Ever since the last tournament," Kim walked over to stand with them, "how well do you know her? What's she like?"

"Well, I've known her for years, truth be told," Silph nodded, all too happy to share, "as to her personality…well, she has new responsibilities nowadays. She's a very strong young woman."

"Awesome…" Kim marveled at the small amount of information, eager to learn anything at all about her mysterious idol.

"At any rate," Silph changed the subject, "I hope you like the room. I've had quite a few important meetings over matches up here," he gestured to the table, "help yourselves to the spread," Volt shot Kim a smug look when he said this, "and there's a small fridge in the corner there. It should have water, soda, and I think a few beer bottles, as well. Though you look a little young for that…"

"I'm not!" Volt announced as he began searching for the fridge that he had somehow overlooked.

"Technically, you are," Kim pointed out.

"Heh," Volt smirked as he helped himself to a dark brown, glass bottle, "try and stop me."

"Fine…" Kim groaned, "Maple! Kick his ass!"

"Huh?" the Leafeon-girl's long ears perked up.

"Never mind," Kim waved her away, suppressing a grin.

"Haha," Silph chuckled at the exchange, "never a dull moment with human Pokémon around is there?"

"Uh, Silph?" Mark asked.

"Yes? Umm…Mark, right?"

"Yes, sir," Mark nodded, "uh, sorry. Anyway, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but…can I ask you something?"

"Certainly," Silph nodded, "what is it?"

"Well," Mark looked around the room, "this is all very generous of you…but, I'm still confused. You barely know us. We just met. Why do all of this for us?"

"It worries you that much?" Silph asked, studying Mark with keen curiosity, "I suppose it's understandable. Especially for a Pokémon trainer…a human Pokémon trainer, at that. You all have to learn to protect yourselves at such a young age. I was always studying business or some other boring thing. Never had the time for Pokémon that weren't pets. I never even dreamed of leaving home. I can't claim to know what it's really like."

"I'm sorry if I-"

"No, no, it's fine," Silph interrupted, "I've just always been fascinated by Pokémon trainers. And human Pokémon are even more curious. Everything little Claire does fascinates me. She's like us, but she's not like us all at the same time. I love my little girl more than anything."

Mark turned away to look over at Cherry and Claire, leaning across their chairs as they talked to each other. The two had met that very day and were already best friends. They were the same age and though there might be a dozen other young girls exactly like them in that very stadium, away from Himitsu Island, they might never see another. If not for that very tournament, Cherry and Claire would have lived their lives alone, with no friends. No one who understood what they were or what they were feeling in quite the same way.

Was that it? Was that the answer? Was the entire tournament all for her? All for one, small, sweet little girl with bubblegum-pink hair?

"Though I must confess," Silph went on, "I do have a small bit of business I'd like to discuss with you."

"Business?" Mark asked.

"More like an outside opinion," Silph corrected, "I just need to ask you a few questions about a subject that's been bothering me."

"Okay…" Mark added, warily.

"Oh, let's skip the wordplay," Silph chuckled, deciding that Mark neither understood, nor cared to understand the subtle rules to the games he had to play to get what he wanted, "I'm thinking of building a school for human Pokémon."

"Really?" Mark asked, "That sounds awesome."

"I thought you might agree," Silph put a hand on the boy's shoulder, "come, sit. We'll talk during the match."

* * *

><p>"Ugh…stupid, stubborn, rich, jackass," Rachel muttered under her breath as she stormed into the locker room, "just because you have money, that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."<p>

The rest of her meeting with Alfred Silph had gone entirely as predicted. He did everything he could, used every trick at his disposable to try and change her mind. Worst of all, he tried to appeal to her old self and their friendship when she was RiverofTears. She had made a mistake in dressing as RiverofTears. Hell, if she could, she'd change into her work clothes and wash the dye out of her hair, just to get his attention. Just to make a statement. She would not bend to the man and give him what he wanted.

Himitsu overflowing with human Pokémon. When she was a teenager she might've dreamed for such a thing, but now she was fighting against it with all of her being. She was her mother. She hated it and she couldn't stop it. What was wrong with her?!

"River…" Teardrop called out.

"My name is RACHEL!" Teardrop's trainer whirled at the voice coming from behind her.

Teardrop drew back in shock. And she wasn't the only one. Cashmere, Pixie, and Briar were all waiting for her in that locker room.

Rachel stared at them for a while, unsure of what to say. Did they know that she refused Silph? They always made Astral tell them bits of gossip. She looked to Briar. The Roserade-woman was calm, meditative, waiting for Rachel to make the next move.

"You know," Rachel turned away, "look, I wish I could agree with him, too. But-"

"You're not your mother, dear," Briar told her, "you had to make a choice, and none of us blame you for it."

Rachel turned back to her human Pokémon. The four women that still held a loyalty to her that she didn't deserve. She hated it, but she knew what she was doing to them. No school, no college, no more human Pokémon living on Himitsu Island. She was abandoning them. Maybe not that day, but soon. If she wanted her new life, she had to give them up.

"How can you not?" Rachel asked them, "You've been nothing but kind and loyal to me. You _evolved_ for me…" She focused on Briar as she talked. Cashmere and Pixie hid behind the older, stronger woman, scared. But Rachel dared not even glance at Teardrop.

"We had our own reasons, as well," Briar explained, "human life is not easy, we've learned that much. But we won't run away from it."

"What will you do?"

"Oh, I'm certain there's something," Briar sighed, "human life is also…diverse. There's something for everyone."

Rachel nodded. "If you need help-"

"We will not burden our trainer," Briar shook her head, "you've taught us everything you could and everything we need."

"Alright," Rachel nodded. There it was. This was the end of the road for them. When this tournament ended, Rachel would be saying goodbye to her human Pokémon. They would find new lives and Rachel could start hers. If only it didn't hurt so much…

"First we need to bring your grandfather home," Briar added, "if, of course, you still want that."

"Yes," Rachel nodded, once more, "I miss him, too much. This is his home."

"Whenever you're ready," Briar bowed her head to her trainer.

Two of the Four reunited. It was Rachel's dream. The one part of her old life that she wouldn't say goodbye to. He had left three years ago. Sky, Edge and Aurum all left, scattered in separate directions, leaving only River behind. They would never be Four again, but Rachel would not lose any more of her family. Not when she had to give up this one.

Briar studied the poor girl in front of her. Ever since she had fought and began training with this girl, she had been watching her grow. As a teenager, her heart had been broken and there was nothing Briar could do to help mend it. So the girl grew up and pushed away the past, even though it was killing her.

What would she do if there was someone who could rescue her? Someone who could appear and brush away that pain? What if there was someone who could save her from herself?

But the Roserade-woman knew there wasn't. And so, she would take her sisters and pray that her trainer found happiness when they were gone.

"River?" Teardrop spoke with a small voice.

"I'm sorry, Teardrop," RiverofTears told her favorite, "for everything."

"It's alright," Teardrop shook her head, "but, we still have time. Can't we…just pretend it's still the old days? Just for a little while?"

River sat down next to her first Pokémon and her first human Pokémon.

"Yeah."

The two hugged each other until the attendant said it was time to start the match.

* * *

><p>AN: RiverRachel has become much more complicated than what I had originally envisioned for her, truth be told. Originally, I kinda figured she'd just be a long-lost love interest for Sky and Edge, but the more I talked about her, the more ideas I had for her own, rather depressing plotline. It's far from over, but still I like this Rachel/River much better

Btw, I started re-reading the story when I can. There's a few minor edits I'm going to have to make here and there (making sure Fate is referred to as a psychic/fairy-type is the biggest), but nothing too major. Mostly just updates for X/Y and minor spelling and grammatical stuff. Grammatical stuff I'm always going to be loose on, though. Sometimes I just like to screw with stuff (like sentence structure) just to make it sound cooler or more dramatic (who uses a semicolon, really? I'd rather just start a new, incomplete sentence :-p ).

Anyway, I guess that's everything for now. Cara vs. RiverofTears begins Sunday!

Thanks for reading! (I forgot that last time. It's seriously been too long)


	89. I Forgot How Much Fun This Is: Part One

Chapter 87

By the time the attendant finally told Cara she could leave the locker room, the match was a full fifteen minutes behind schedule. Technically, each competitor was allowed a twenty minute grace period before they automatically forfeited. However, Cara was willing to bet that the Four were an exception to that rule. She could be waiting in that locker room for the rest of her life and they'd still wait for RiverofTears.

Cara had never met the woman and knew very little about her. From what Alex had told her, the same was true for almost everyone on the island. She was a strong trainer in her early twenties, she was pretty, and she was the only girl member of the Four. It was more than enough to make her very popular. It didn't surprise her in the slightest, that the cheers for RiverofTears very nearly drowned out the announcement of Cara's own name.

But it didn't matter. They would recognize Serenade and the Dugtrio triplets. That was what mattered. Cara was grateful for the timing. The crowd would remember them from the night before. If she could fight a halfway decent battle against RiverofTears, it could help their publicity. The more exposure their names had, the better. Not that she'd be able to win, of course.

Cara also hadn't expected the turn-out that this match had. Even with the rain, the stands were filled with attendants, covered in plastic or huddled underneath their umbrellas. She had to remind herself that this was a four-on-six match. Regardless of her opponent, she was only down two human Pokémon. If she made the right decisions, had a little bit of luck on her side and…no, she was going to lose. She was positive of that.

Cara had never thought of herself as very pretty, or popular. However, it hardly ever bothered her. She was fine with managing and figuring out the paperwork while someone else took center stage. But when she met RiverofTears, she felt somehow…inadequate.

The young woman was very pretty, beautiful, even. She was a little bit taller than Cara and her auburn hair, though becoming wet and matted from the rain, was long and silky. She was thin, but had curves where women should have curves. She made Cara feel frumpy and awkward, with her glasses, her stubborn, dull, brown hair and…well, Cara didn't really want to think about what RiverofTears had to eat to look like that.

"Uh…nice to meet you," Cara's hand shook a bit. It was ludicrous, but she was nervous. She knew nothing at all about RiverofTears. Why should she be nervous?

"Thank you for coming," River pumped her hand twice. It was a handshake that felt like a man's. It made Cara look up in confusion.

She had been so focused on RiverofTears' physical qualities; she almost forgot to look at her face. The other young woman's expression was…cold and distant. No part of her was actually enjoying this.

"Are you okay?" Cara had to ask.

RiverofTears blinked at her.

"Uh, I'm sorry," she apologized, "let's just get started." She broke off the handshake and turned back towards her end of the stadium. Cara watched her for a little while, uncertain.

_Loosen up_, Rachel told herself, _you're not at work. Have some fun. For Teardrop, at least_. It was easier said than done, however. Did she even know how to have fun anymore?

She ran her hand over her engagement ring. He wouldn't be in the crowd. She told him not to come. This was her past, he would be her future. She wanted them separate and he respected that. He was good to her.

So why did she keep glancing towards the stands?

_Alright, Sparks_, Cara thought at the Pokéball containing her human Luxray, _it's raining and we're fighting somebody who calls herself RiverofTears. Hope you're not too rusty_.

She looked across the wet, muddy field at her opponent. Neither had anything to shield them from the rain. Neither cared. Rain, sun, snow or sand, the battle would go on.

"GO!"

* * *

><p>Sparks cracked his neck and then his knuckles, when the flash of light around him faded. Back on the battlefield. How long had it been? Three months? Four? Too long, that's for sure. Cara might have been messing with him by sending him out first, but it hardly mattered. Hell, with the rain, he might be able to pick off some pesky water-types.<p>

He breathed deep. Now, what was he fighting?

"A…Cincinno?" Sparks blinked as he looked at his opponent, wrapped in fancy fur that was liable to be ruined by the steady rain. He turned back to his trainer, "Cara, I thought you said this girl was strong…" A Cincinno was never anything that worried Sparks before…

"She is," Cara reminded him, "be careful."

"You're the thinker," he shrugged, "just tell me what to do."

"Ready, Cashmere?" Rachel asked her human Cincinno.

"Ready!" Cashmere chirped. It was the usual strategy. Rachel could already see the rest of the battle falling into place. She could see how she needed to move and when, always two or three steps ahead. It fell back into place easily. Her granddad had taught her well.

"Go, Sparks!" Cara ordered, "Wild Charge!"

The human Luxray began to charge forward, building up the electricity for his attack as he went. Soon, his body was giving off a faint glow as small arcs of bluish-yellow electricity coursed through him, searching for a way out. Another body to jump to.

"U-Turn," came RiverofTears' order to Cashmere.

Sparks was nearly halfway across the field when the small, slight Cincinno-girl came rushing up to meet him. Heedless of the rain and the mud, she giggled as she jumped forward. In a smooth motion, she kicked him in the chest and began darting away.

Only a little dazed from the attack, Sparks swore under his breath and began charging after the girl. He caught up quickly, eager to take down the fragile speedster in one blow.

"Got ya!" he yelled out, expecting a solid hit. But what he rammed into and began electrocuting with his built-up charge was not the Cincinno-girl he had been chasing. He stepped back, staggering a little as some of his electricity re-bounded on him. His vision blurred a little as well and he began to feel…slightly queasy.

_What just happened?_ He thought.

"Sorry, dear," the Roserade-woman in front of him greeted, "roses have thorns, after all."

"You alright, Sparks?" Cara called down after seeing him stagger.

"'fraid not…" he groaned, "the bitch poisoned me!"

"Oh, crap…" Cara muttered.

U-Turn…she should've expected that from RiverofTears. It was a perfectly legal attack that let a Pokémon quickly attack and switch to another in one, smooth motion. A Cincinno was something that Sparks could handle easily. She had even taught him Fire Fang for opponents like the Roserade-woman. But with the rain coming down and Sparks sick with poison…she needed a new plan. Fast.

"Sludge Bomb," Rachel ordered Briar. Luxray had a lot of attack power, but it was fragile and rather slow, at that. One hit should do it. And even if she switched, a Sludge Bomb stood a good chance of doing significant damage to whatever came next.

"Serenade!" Cara called out her best as Briar formed a small glob of poison in her hands. The Jynx-woman materialized in front of Sparks just in time to shield him from the disgusting goo. It splattered across her face and chest, making her recoil in pain and disgust.

"Ewwaughh!" Serenade cried before turning to the partner she had shielded, "never say we don't care about you!"

"You don't," he smirked before fading back into his Pokéball.

_Ice and psychic_, River pondered her options as she looked at the Jynx-woman. There weren't many. Luminous possessed the best advantage against her, but he would take a considerable amount of damage just coming out onto the field. Worse still, he would be slower than his opponent and take a second strong hit before he could retaliate. She could call out her sixth, but…no. That one was special.

There was also a chance that Briar could come out ahead. Jynx was quick, but Roserade was known to be just as fast. It would come down to which was better trained. But River knew her human Pokémon, and knew their limits. Briar was not trained for that kind of speed.

"I'm sorry, Briar," River apologized.

"It's fine," the Roserade-woman brushed it off, "think nothing of it."

"Psychic!" Cara called out, hardly believing what was about to happen.

Serenade closed her eyes to concentrate while Briar prepared another Sludge Bomb. Cara crossed her fingers and shut her eyes, praying that when the dust settled Serenade would be the one on her feet.

Serenade's eyes opened and she extended an open palm at Briar as her Psychic attack began. Briar felt the jolt that she had felt from Astral and Farsight more times than she dared count. She knew what it meant and she did not fight against the darkness that slipped over her. She collapsed on the ground, blood trickling from her nose.

"We got one…" Cara gaped at the field as the Roserade-woman faded away, "we actually got one…holy shit, we ACTUALLY GOT ONE!" Four-on-five. They stood a chance. They had a real, honest chance now. But what would RiverofTears do next?

_Think, think, think_, River told herself, _you used to be good at this. Come on. Think_. Used to be? Was that really the truth? Was all of her talent and instinct for battling gone? No, no, it couldn't go away that easily. She just had to calm down and think.

Luminous. She had to use Luminous now.

No…wait, was that right? Jynx. She had to think about what Jynx was. What could it do? What could go wrong? Lovely Kiss! Yes, of course! Lovely Kiss was one of Jynx's signature abilities. If it was quick enough, it could easily put an opponent to sleep and attack a helpless target. And yes, it would be quicker than Luminous. But…it wouldn't be quicker than Cashmere!

"Cashmere!" River called the Cincinno-girl back out.

"Crap…" Cara swore. The Cincinno. She hated the Cincinno. It was so small and supposed to be so weak, so why was it still fighting? What to do…Serenade and Sparks were both hurt and ready to collapse. Ebony and the triplets still had the energy to keep fighting, but each could get hurt terribly if she switched. Maybe now it was her turn to lose one.

"Tail Slap," RiverofTears ordered.

"Serenade…" Cara warned.

"She's too quick, I know," Serenade nodded. Then she turned back to give her trainer a half-smile, "but what if she misses?"

Serenade kept her eyes open, concentrating on her hands as she gathered water vapor from the air. The sphere of freezing water for her Ice Beam grew larger and larger, but the Cincinno-girl was closing fast. She let the stream loose, but it was too early and her aim was terribly off. Cashmere jumped easily overtop of it.

She pounced on Serenade, as nimbly as a squirrel. Using her scarf like a whip, she struck Serenade wherever she could reach. Once in the face, once to the shoulder, twice to the chest, and one more to the face. But Serenade was falling after the third hit and didn't even feel the last two.

"Okay, okay. I expected that," Cara said aloud, "it's no big deal, no big deal. But…what now?" She drummed her fingers on the railing as she thought. She knew one thing about RiverofTears. Her strongest human Pokémon was a Milotic. But that Milotic hadn't appeared yet. So far, Cara had only seen two. Just the Roserade and the Cincinno. Even just those two had proven to be a handful. The Four really were as powerful as what they said.

But she had been careless before. The Milotic was what she needed to worry about. To take it down, she'd need Sparks. And now Sparks was hurt and couldn't take much more abuse. Would he even last against a Milotic? She had a bad feeling that he wouldn't…

Wait…was she thinking about winning again? No, she couldn't do that. She couldn't win. There was no way. But…she _wanted_ it. She really, _really_ wanted it. And that was what felt so confusing.

But if she wanted to win, then first she needed to take this Cincinno down. It was so fast. It was hard to counter it without getting hurt…so she needed something just as fast.

"Umm…I don't think that's legal…" Cashmere shook her head, "three against one just isn't fair…"

"Technically, they are just one," Cara explained the triplets, "…I think. Anyway, they are allowed."

"Actually, this is our first battle ever, like this," Mano, the tallest one, spoke cheerfully to his opponent.

"Yep," Duon went next, "never fought a human Pokémon battle before."

"You can be the first!" Trine finished.

"They always do that," Cara grinned, "it's weird, I know."

"We are _not_ weird!" they said in unison.

"Whatever," Cara shrugged, "Stone Edge!"

"Bullet Seed!" RiverofTears' answered.

"WHAT?!" Cara shouted. But it was too late. The orders were in. She knew what Bullet Seed was, but she never knew that Cincinno could learn it.

The triplets each managed to find a usable chunk of rock amidst the puddles and mud that dotted the field. The three hurled their stones straight at the small, nimble Cincinno-girl. She managed to dodge the first, but the other two caught her in the ribs and on her left hip. The jagged stones ripped through her clothes and left bloody wounds as the impact made them crumble into pebbles.

Still on her feet, Cashmere tried to take aim as the triplets scattered in every direction, something a normal Dugtrio wouldn't be capable of. She spat small bursts of plant seeds out of her mouth, like an Uzi, trying to hit one or maybe all three of them. She shot five times, but in the chaos and confusion, none of her attacks managed to hit.

"This isn't fair…" Cashmere whined, shaking her head.

She tried again, but it only took one more hit from one of the triplets' Stone Edges to finish off the human Cincinno.

_Three-on-four, three-on-four_, Cara couldn't suppress her grin anymore. The battle was going far better than she ever dreamed it would. Just a few more and she'd have a superb shot at winning. She could do it. She could do it.

"Neat trick," RiverofTears complimented her through the speaker.

"Thanks," Cara replied, "I didn't know they could do that either."

Cara's opponent laughed at that.

Wait…laughed? Was Cara still fighting the same woman that looked so cold and unforgiving when the battle started? She had lost two human Pokémon while Cara only lost one and yet…she was having fun. Cara grinned wider.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

"A bit," RiverofTears admitted, "but I'll feel even better when I've won."

"Go ahead and try, then," Cara taunted, playfully.

"Teardrop!" RiverofTears called.

_Here we go_, Cara thought.

The young Milotic-woman stood poised and elegant across the field. She was as beautiful as her trainer. She looked up at the rain, as if thanking it.

"Ready, Teardrop?" River asked, behind her.

"Hmm?" She turned back. There was something different in her voice. Something she hadn't heard in far too long. River was smiling at her. "Anything for you."

Cara had to think fast. The Milotic. She needed Sparks if she wanted to beat it, but he was hurt. If she switched now, he'd go down before the fight even started. But the triplets weren't finished yet.

"Keep it up, guys!" Cara cheered them on, "Stone Edge!" As one, the three rushed forward, each holding their own bowling-ball sized sharpened stones.

"Dodge this," River smirked, "Surf."

Teardrop brought her arms up in sweeping motion. She held them straight out to her sides, palms down as water began gathering behind her. From every corner of the stadium, water seemed to be rushing towards her. It gathered all along the far-side boundary of the field. Teardrop barely flinched as the Stone Edge attacks from the triplets struck her body. She only continued holding her arms up as an enormous column of water rose up, three times her height.

The triplets stared in awe. There would be nowhere to run.

Teardrop brought her hands forward in another quick, sweeping motion and the water came crashing down. It swept across the field in a devastating tidal wave, picking up the triplets and tossing them helplessly through the surging current. The three slammed into the base of Cara's platform. All three remained there, unconscious, as the remaining water flowed around them and the platform.

Teardrop remained where she stood, smiling over her handiwork.

"How are you feeling?" she asked her trainer.

"Wonderful," River sighed, "like I'm a teenager, again."

"Good," Teardrop smiled.

* * *

><p>AN: a caution to those in the first three rows: you will get wet :-p<p>

ah…finally, another tournament match. This one's much more fast-paced than the others. I wanted to stay focused on Cara and River, so I dropped Mark's group entirely, but they'll probably be back next chapter.

also, it's time to start switching more often, like an actual Pokémon battle.

Anyway, I guess that's it, for right now. Still working on re-reading and editing (I didn't really do any over the weekend, to be honest…). The old AN needs to be trimmed down, too…yep, lots to do.

So, yeah, I think twice a week is a good pace. Tune in Thursday for the exciting conclusion!

Thanks for reading!


	90. I Forgot How Much Fun This Is: Part Two

Chapter 88

"Whoa…" Mark gasped as Teardrop's Surf attack finished. Some of the water was still sloshing around the edges of the field, searching for a place to soak into the already wet ground.

Next to him, Silph chuckled at his reaction. "Most people say that she's the weakest of the Four. Not that it means much."

Kim was out of her seat. She cheered at the top of her lungs, despite the wall of glass. Next to her, Volt covered his crescent-shaped ears while Cherry and Claire giggled to each other. Maple cheered as well, though not as loudly as Kim and certainly with fewer swears words.

"She seems a little…out of practice, to me," Silph added.

Mark wondered about that. So far, he hadn't noticed anything in RiverofTears' strategy that he would've done differently. In truth, he was actually rather impressed at her capability with the human Pokémon she used. Cincinno, Roserade and Milotic were not widely considered to be exceptional Pokémon. They were far from terrible, but most highly skilled trainers favored something tougher.

He was also having a difficult time deciding who to root for. He had met Cara only briefly, but he had no idea her human Pokémon were capable of going head-to-head with RiverofTears. Though RiverofTears had gained the upper hand once more, Cara had been able to take down two of her human Pokémon and keep herself from being swept away like so many others that fought the Four. It was an impressive showing for someone who was down by two at the match's start. Nevertheless, with only two left and one of them hurt and poisoned, her options were dwindling.

Cara probably wouldn't win, but the match was still far from finished. The wrong move at the wrong time could change everything.

"Ah, well…" Silph kept talking, "she seems to be having fun, now. Perhaps we should have had the meeting after her match…"

* * *

><p>Cara whistled in awe at the destruction from Surf. She had seen it before, but the human Pokémon variant was a world apart. The wave had been colossal and was no doubt dangerous to use outside of a tournament battle. Wide-area attacks like that threatened trainers as well as the Pokémon. Cara rubbed her hands on the metal railing of her platform, gratefully.<p>

She began to question her strategy up to this point. Sparks was what she needed to have a good chance of defeating the Milotic-woman, but Luxray was regrettably slow for the normally speedy electric Pokémon. There was a possibility that Teardrop would move first and she highly doubted that he could take a hit that powerful.

Ebony wasn't a better option. Much like Sparks, her best qualities lied in her ability to deal damage, not take it. A Sucker Punch could do a fair bit of damage, but she didn't believe it could finish what the triplets had started. And if Teardrop chose to use its Recover ability, then Sucker Punch would be useless since it relied on the small opening before an attack to be effective.

However, Milotic usually wasn't trained for that kind of power. The rain made her powerful, but it didn't make her invincible.

"Sparks!"

The human Luxray groaned as he came back out onto the battlefield, but he snapped to attention and grinned when he saw the Milotic-woman across the field.

"There we go," he cracked his knuckles again, "that's more like it."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you saw what just happened," Cara warned him, "take a look around."

It wasn't until then that Sparks noticed the destruction surrounding him. The field had been slightly muddy before, but now it was a thick, brown soup. Half of the grass had been washed away. It wasn't the rain that did that.

"What the hell happened?"

"Surf happened," Cara cautioned, "if you don't do this in one hit, we're done."

"Heh, who do you think you're talking to?" he asked her.

"A moody pessimist," Cara muttered too quietly for him to hear. Then, louder, she told him, "take her down and I'll let you smash a speaker…an old one that we're not going to use anymore."

"Sounds good to me," Sparks leaned forward, ready to run.

Across the field, RiverofTears felt more alive than she had in years. Beneath the cool, soothing rain with Teardrop at her command, she was a teenager again. She stopped worrying about her job and her future and instead focused on the battle before her. She pretended that it was the first tournament. Long before everything that was sweet and wonderful in life became bitter and poisoned.

A part of her knew it was temporary and that she had to come back. She'd have to grow up again, be strong and responsible, and remember why she wanted that. But she promised Teardrop that she would pretend.

Instead she thought about what to do against the Luxray. Though Milotic was naturally faster than Luxray, River had never trained Teardrop for speed. There was every possibility that he would be faster. What other options did she have? If she swapped for Luminous, he would definitely be faster, since she trained him that way. However, he'd take a nasty hit and have to deal with whatever came next. Still…

"Wild Charge!" Cara yelled, crossing her fingers that he was quicker than the Milotic.

Once again, Sparks rushed forward, charging up his electricity as he ran. This time he would get one. This time-

But as before, right when he was prepared to strike his target changed to something else.

This time, a well-dressed man with three candles burning on his head and each shoulder appeared to take the blow and defend his ally. However, the human Chandelure was not as naturally well equipped to counter him as the Roserade-woman had been. He staggered and dropped back from the blow as his partner vanished from the field.

But Sparks was no better off. His own attack rebounded on him once more and the poison running through his system made him cough up a mouthful of blood.

"Chandelure?" Cara wondered aloud. Now that was interesting. In his weakened state, Sparks would fall to it in a heartbeat. However, with the rain falling steadily around them, its fire attacks would be almost entirely useless. That meant…

"Shadow Ball!" River's butler obeyed his master's command at once. Dark energy flowed down from the candles on his body to gather in his gloved hands. But the sphere he launched at his opponent did not find its mark.

"Ebony!"

Another ally appeared to take the hit for Sparks. Though they fought outside of battle constantly, on the field they were friends. For the most part.

"Oww…" Ebony groaned, though she took the blow easily enough, "can't you do anything by yourself?" The Honchkrow-woman yawned tremendously before adjusting her fedora. She hovered a few feet off of the ground, flapping her large, black wings to steady herself.

"Not without you bitching about it," Sparks shot back before fading away.

_Honchkrow_, River thought, _that's all of them. Luxray, Jynx, Dugtrio and Honchkrow_. She wondered what the others would think if they saw her now, struggling with a Luxray, Jynx, Dugtrio and Honchkrow. Edge would laugh at a group like that and Tempest would likely blast through all of them on her own. Maybe her instincts really were starting to fade. She should've left Cashmere in. She should've made sure to defeat the Luxray and let Teardrop wash away the rest.

But how could she have known what was waiting for her? She couldn't blame herself for not knowing what was coming. She couldn't predict the future. The decisions she made were not ones that she regretted. At the time she made them, she had used everything she knew to make the right choice. And there was still a way to win.

River closed her eyes and smiled to herself. After all of these years, Pokémon could still teach her about herself.

"Will-o-Wisp," she ordered.

"Nasty Plot," Cara smirked. This would be her chance. If Ebony could strengthen herself enough, then she could wipe out the rest of RiverofTears' team all on her own. And a Chandelure weakened by the rain was the perfect opponent to begin with.

Undaunted by his opponent's advantage, Luminous hastily obeyed his trainer's order. The three flames on his head and shoulders drifted down to gather into a small, bluish fireball in his hands. The small flame hissed in the rain, but showed no signs of going out. He blew a small puff of air at the back of it, sending it whirling and spiraling through the air towards the Honchkrow-woman.

Ebony had plenty of time to watch the ghostly butler and study his weaknesses and sharpen her mind for her next move. She didn't worry about the tiny, slow-moving flame at all until it was within a few yards. Just before it reached her, she shot skyward to dodge it. She turned back, expecting to see it drifting lazily beyond her, but instead, the ghost-flame had picked up speed and was coming straight for her. It caught her left leg, badly searing it, even as the rain came down around her. She cursed under her breath at the wave of pain coming from her leg, but it faded after a moment.

"Alright, then," Cara hoped one Nasty Plot would be enough, "Dark Pulse."

"Hex."

Luminous smirked. In a moment, the calm, polite butler's passive expression became a devilish grin that horrified Ebony. She had nowhere to run as the burn mark on her leg began to give off a deep, violet light. Even with her natural resistance to ghost-type attacks, Ebony screamed at the pain, barely able to keep herself in the air.

But somehow she managed and began to gather her own dark energy for a counterattack. She flapped her wings forward as hard as she could. The movement sent out a shockwave of energy that was as black as her wings. It washed over the human Chandelure a moment later and Ebony breathed deeply as he sank to one knee and then collapsed entirely. The power boost from her Nasty Plot had been far too much for it to handle.

"Three…" Cara breathed a sigh of relief. Half of RiverofTears' team was down. However, she was far from safe. Ebony and Sparks were both badly hurt. It was about time for the Milotic to come back out, as well. She never expected the Chandelure to be capable of hurting Ebony that much. It was incredibly dangerous to underestimate RiverofTears.

"Teardrop!"

And there it was. Now what would it do? No matter what Cara did, she would be taking a massive gamble. Ebony could recover her wounds with Roost, attack with Dark Pulse again, or try a Sucker Punch. With her burn, the Sucker Punch probably wouldn't succeed. That left Cara with Roost and Dark Pulse.

And what would RiverofTears do? Would she have Teardrop Recover or attack? She had no idea. She took a gamble.

"Roost!"

"Recover!"

The two Pokémon-women squared off as the exchange passed peacefully and the two recovered from their wounds. Ebony landed gently on the ground to rest her tired wings while Teardrop sparkled with a faint light and healed her injuries. But the peace only lasted a moment.

"Dark Pulse!"

"Ice Beam!"

As both trainers predicted, it was Teardrop that moved first. She took a deep breath before spraying the jet of super-cooled water at her opponent. It streaked through the air, turning drops of falling rain into ice and snow. The blast hit Ebony's right wing as she took to the air again. The chilling cold made her yell out, but she just barely managed to keep to the air.

She retaliated by flapping her wings in unison towards her opponent. The Dark Pulse washed over the Milotic-woman, doing severe damage. But Cara could tell it wasn't enough.

"Dammit…" her heart sank. She and Ebony had one more chance.

"Surf!"

"Sucker Punch!"

The column of water rose quickly, but Ebony's Sucker Punch was quicker. She flashed across the field, struggling to ignore the chilling pain in her wing and the searing burn in her leg. She struck Teardrop once in her pretty face, making her drop to one knee and spit up a mouthful of blood. But that was the best the Honchkrow-woman could do.

The column of water crashed down around her, leaving Teardrop entirely untouched. She tried flapping her wings to get out of it, but beneath the foam and surging water, she couldn't tell which end was up. The wave bashed her body as it tossed her end over end, finally dropping her back at the opposite end of the field.

Ebony didn't bother getting up. In fact, she was all too happy to go back to sleep.

"Dammit…" Cara muttered. It was worth a shot. But this was the end of the line for her. Even if Sparks was quick enough to outrun Teardrop, he'd never win the match in his condition.

Still, in a four-on-six match she came away with three victories against one of the strongest trainers in the whole world. Half of RiverofTears' team had fallen to Cara. She could've done a lot worse. Besides, it was fun while it lasted.

_The band that gave RiverofTears a run for her money…not bad._

"Is she going to go down this time?" Sparks groaned. He was sick of attacking the wrong opponent.

"If you're quicker, sure," Cara shrugged.

"That's not very reassuring," Sparks looked back over his shoulder.

"We got half of her team," Cara smiled, "I think I'm pretty happy with that."

"Three that I didn't get," Sparks grumbled, "whatever. Let's do this."

The Luxray again. River was out of options, but even with two human Pokémon that were weak against electricity, she would win. Luxray's Wild Charge was a dangerous attack. It hurt the user as well as the target. Even if he hit Teardrop, the attack would finish off the weakened Sparks, as well. Whether Teardrop was still standing or not, this would be the last exchange.

"Wild Charge!"

"Surf!"

With the orders in, the human Pokémon set to work. Both were weak and exhausted. They moved a bit slower than they should be. The column of water rose and Sparks' electricity crackled around him. But before he was close enough to finish his charge, the water came crashing down onto the electric-type.

"Crap…" he muttered.

* * *

><p>The ground was so muddy, Cara could feel it trying to suck her shoes right off of her feet. Whoever cleaned this up between matches had their work cut out for them after three Surf attacks. She grinned widely at the pretty woman that had ordered it as the two met in the center of the field.<p>

Cara didn't feel as frumpy and awkward in front of her anymore. River's hair was just as ratty and matted as her own after their match in the rain. Surprisingly, rather than shake her hand, the other girl threw her arms around Cara and hugged her.

"I'm sorry about earlier," she apologized.

"Umm…no problem…" Cara hesitated, "are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"Better than I've felt in years," River told her as the hug ended, "by the way, what's your name? I never asked."

"Cara."

"Well, Cara, I'm Rachel," she told her, "but call me River."

"Okay…" Cara nodded, "sounds good." She wondered how many other human Pokémon trainers knew RiverofTears' real name. "We should do this again, sometime," she added.

At this, River took a step back.

"Sorry…" she shook her head, "this was fun, but…I think this will be one of my last. I'm…retiring."

"Oh…" Cara nodded. She was torn between saying "so am I" and "sorry to hear that."

"This was fun, though," River repeated, "thank you so much."

"Anytime," Cara nodded.

The two trainers parted ways on the field, heading towards their own separate lives, once more.

As she went, River wondered if there was a way that things could be different. If she had made a different choice, walked down a different path, would she be happier? Would she have this and everything she earned for herself together? Somehow she thought not.

Maybe that was what growing up really was. Realizing that life is too short to chase after every dream and being strong enough to live with the path you chose.

She wondered about the others. What were Edge and Sky doing right then? What path did they choose through life? Did they wonder about her, as well?

Briar probably knew the answer to that. All River needed to do was ask her.

Then again…she was still feeling young and stupid. It would be more fun to be surprised.

She hoped that they would come see her soon.

* * *

><p>AN: poor Sparks always gets the short end of the stick. He was the only one that didn't get one of RiverofTears'…<p>

So…I still didn't do very much editing on old chapters…i'm being very lazy for that. Not sure why, since i do enjoy re-reading old chapters to see how much I've improved and I have a tendency to rewrite things a little bit whenever I go back over something I've written.

It's not a big deal, it just bugs me 'cause I said I'd do it and I haven't…maybe over the weekend a bit, once I've finally gotten 100 rare candies again…god, that takes forever…

Anyways, I guess that's it, for right now. See you again on Sunday

Thanks for reading!


	91. Clouded Sky

Chapter 89

The part that Sky hated the most was waiting. When he was waiting, it gave him time to doubt himself. Time to think about how the whole thing was a bad idea. If he could focus on the moment, he was sure he would be fine. But the waiting and the anticipation just made him focus on everything that was wrong. Little by little, his reason for coming and his resolve deteriorated.

While River was inside the stadium, enjoying her match, Sky was outside in the cold and the rain, doubting himself.

He waited a short distance from the locker room exit. In a few more minutes, River would come through those doors and he would talk to her for the first time in three years. Of course, that was if he didn't run away the second he saw her. Which was a stronger and stronger possibility the more he stood there, he had to admit. Briefly, he had considered actually going to the match. It would give him something to do while he waited, as well as something to talk to River about when they met. However, he was also willing to bet that seeing River from afar would remind him of how pretty and kind and wonderful and amazing and…everything that River was and he'd lose his nerve before he got within ten feet of her. Not that letting his imagination run wild was a better idea.

A single tree, without very many branches on it, was his only cover from the rain. He hadn't expected the rain to be very bothersome, but the waiting was making it worse. River's match seemed to be taking a rather long time, as well. Sky's clothes were very close to dripping wet, even in the light rain of the afternoon.

His tree wasn't very much help either. On the occasions where he managed to find a spot that shielded him from the rain, a rather large droplet from the upper branches would land on the center of his head, or the edge of his nose or somewhere else annoyingly uncomfortable, and he'd have to move. This happened four times within three minutes.

_This sucks_, Sky thought. The minutes ticked by painfully slowly and there was still no sign of River. Occasionally, he heard cheers from inside, telling him the match was still going. If he was guessing correctly, Sky figured that the match was rather even. The fans cheering for each side took turns. The louder one would be River.

That was a little surprising. It wasn't often that someone outside of the Four could keep one of them on their toes.

The crash of a Surf wave echoed at one point. That would be Teardrop taking advantage of the rain. Sky had taught River that technique. On occasion, he regretted doing so, but losing a few matches was minor compared to how happy and pretty River had looked when he had taught it to her. Even more so when she tried it against Edge, for the first time.

More than anything, he hated how that memory triggered such a bittersweet feeling in him. He wanted to remember it fondly and focus on her smiling face. But even his good memories were turning into bad ones. It was the smiling face of a friend that he had hurt. A friend that he had failed and left behind.

He was supposed to be fixing that now. He was setting things right, coming back to his true home and saving the girl he had hurt.

_Except_, Sky thought, _except, except…except, I don't want to say it_.

He cursed himself. And the island. And the rain. But he would never curse River.

River had done nothing. Sky was the failure. He was the loser that ran away and left her behind.

And now, here he was. Back again to fix something he couldn't. Too weak to admit his own weakness.

But why was he here? Correcting the past was beyond him. It couldn't be done. He carried pieces of it around with him and all it reminded him of was that it was done. He had said, done, or believed something foolish long ago and there was no way to change that.

So, why was he here? What did he really want? What did he expect to happen when he talked to River?

Well, he would talk to her. Probably ask about how she was doing and how the past few years had been, and then…well…

And what would he say to her? How could he answer those questions if she asked? He was doing…well. Okay. Fair. He settled for "okay."

He had bought a cabin in Sinnoh's mountains big enough for seven. Thank you very much, Mr. Silph. Yes, I will gladly take your generous amount of prize money. There was snow where he lived now. Lots of snow. Had River ever seen snow? Well, he could show it to her sometime. That was good. He liked that part a lot. He made a mental note of it.

Oh, writing, yes. Yes, he was trying to write something. Something that was…well…not ready to share yet.

And after that? What more was there to say or talk about? There was no answer that time.

The crash of Surf echoed around the stadium again.

River's battle really was taking a long time. How long had Sky been out there? Twenty minutes? Half an hour? He was trying not to check the time to make it go faster. He might go insane if he did.

Dammit, why was he here again? Well, he wanted to talk to River. Okay. Why? Did he really want to, or was it because Tempest had forced him?

That was unfair. Tempest had forced him to do nothing. She had wanted him to talk to River since the very first day of the tournament. She had been rather…insistent, even aggressive, but…forcing him? No, she hadn't gone that far. She didn't need to.

Sky wanted to talk to River. Tempest insisted that he needed to talk to River. But…why?

As far back as Sky could remember, Tempest hated River. Even when she was a Salamence, there was always a kind of resentment in her eyes when she looked at River. So where had the change come from? Why, after so many years, was Tempest telling him to go see River?

The only answer he could think of was simply because she knew he had feelings for River. All of his human Pokémon knew. Sometimes, he wondered if River knew already. They all knew, but only Tempest encouraged him to act on it. Not even the kind-hearted Flurry did that.

Six of his Pokémon had evolved into humans and he let down every single one of them. They had scattered in every direction the instant Sky let them come back to Himitsu. Tempest and Flurry were the only ones that remained with him and even Flurry's faith was gone. Tempest was the only one who still believed in him.

It made no sense. Tempest was stubborn, aggressive and angry. So why? Why did she encourage him to see River? Why did she care so much?

But he knew. Of course he knew. He didn't need to stay there. There was no reason for him to talk to River. The one who encouraged him, cared about him, and believed in him the most was not inside that stadium.

He turned to leave, wondering how he could be so stupid for so long.

* * *

><p>"I hate the rain," Tempest said aloud for the fifth time since Sky had left. If there had been no rain, she would be flying circles around the island. Instead, she was trapped inside and forced to pace the hotel room. It was driving her insane. She needed to be outside at a time like this. There was no better stress relief than gliding through the air.<p>

"Just sit down," Flurry tried to sound calm. She sat alone on one of the suite's couches. Ian was off at RiverofTears' match, but Flurry had decided to stay behind and keep Tempest company. She had hoped to keep Tempest calm since she knew what was going through the Salamence-woman's mind, but she'd have better luck making the rain stop.

"I can't," Tempest said quickly.

"Yes, you can," Flurry sighed, "You don't know when he'll be back. Ian's not even back yet, so the match probably isn't over yet. Now sit down and try to be calm."

"Heh," Tempest gave a quick, derisive laugh at that one. Flurry had obviously forgotten who, and what, she was. Acting calm was something that went against her very nature.

Still, the Glaceon-girl was right. There was no telling how long Sky would be gone. If it went poorly, he'd return much quicker. But if it went well, Sky could be talking to River for…hours, even.

For one of the few times in her life, Tempest wished Farsight was there. She could prod him for information and get him to use his psychic powers to see what Sky was doing. Instead, he was off in some library soaking up information. Of course, even if he was there, she doubted that he would help. He was just self-righteous enough to refuse.

Instead, she had to wait.

It was her own fault this was happening to her, at all. She had admitted defeat and convinced Sky to face River. Tempest couldn't get him to forget her, so, this was the next step. What else was there?

She paced the room, unsure of what she wanted to happen. If it didn't go well, Sky could return even more heartbroken than before. It was difficult for Tempest to envision it, but it was still possible. If that happened, then he'd only keep slipping and Tempest doubted if anyone could help. However, if it did go well, the Four would be a step closer to being reunited. They could all be friends again and there was a chance that life would return to the way it was three years ago. And if it went _really_ well, there was a chance that Sky and River would…become…well, a couple.

Tempest didn't want to think about it, but she had to prepare herself. The next time Sky walked through that door, there was every chance that he would forget everything she had done for him. He would be…with River. And he would be happy. That was what mattered. She thought.

"How long has he been gone?" Tempest asked her tone close to a snarl.

"Half an hour," Flurry answered, "seriously, _sit down_."

"Fine." She sat at the edge of the coffee table. Her scale-covered tail twitched irritably. She lasted thirty seconds before standing again. She moved to the sliding door leading to the balcony. She cursed the rain again as it slid down the glass.

"Tempest," Flurry sighed, "no matter what he decides, you did the right thing."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tempest scowled at Flurry.

"Look," Flurry began, "I know how you feel about him. We all know. He likes you the most, but…Sky's a different person, now. He's…broken."

"You too, huh?" Tempest sighed. She was the only one left. The only one who still cared. Even Flurry, who looked for good in everyone, had given up. But not the stupid, stubborn, human Salamence that she was. She was as alone as Sky.

"We all want him back, Tempest," Flurry went on, "but I don't think it can happen. And I just don't want you to hurt yourself because of him."

"I'll keep that in mind," Tempest rolled her eyes.

Fifteen torturous minutes later, the door opened.

Tempest spun to see Sky standing there, dripping wet from the rain.

Back already? Before Ian? Before the match was over? She watched him silently, looking for clues. His expression was…happy. Free. But…why was he back so soon? What had happened?

"Hi," Sky smiled at her. He sounded out of breath, as if he'd been running. But…holy Arceus, when was the last time he had smiled like that?

"Hi," Tempest returned. She continued to watch him and wait.

"I…wanted to talk to you," Sky began.

"…Alright," Tempest permitted. Flurry remained quiet and watched.

"Tempest," Sky searched for words, "I've…been terrible to you," Tempest did not respond, so he kept going, "I guess it's tough to see who really cares about you when you're…focused on something else. But, uh…I don't mean to make excuses or anything. I just…wanted to apologize."

"For what?" she asked.

"Well…I've been so hung up on River. So worried about coming back here and making up for the past that I…didn't realize I had help."

Tempest struggled to keep her expression passive. What was he saying? What was he doing? Could he…?

"Tempest, it's been three years that I've been like this. Three years that I've disappointed everyone around me with the way I've acted. Everyone has gone. Everyone has lost faith in me. Everyone…but you."

He took a few steps forward

"Sky…" Tempest dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Tempest, I am so sorry. But I will make it up to you, I swear."

"Sky…" Tempest breathed, "River..." he paused, at her name, "did you…did you talk to River?"

"Tempest," he took hold of her hands and held them up, "don't you see? I don't have to. I don't need River. I need you."

_No_, Tempest thought with horror, _no, please_.

How many times? How many times had she pictured this moment and imagined him saying those words? But not now…not like this.

Her mouth was dry, her knees were shaking. She wanted him to say it, wanted him to notice all that she had done for him. How much she cared…but, not like this. She shut her eyes and fought to be strong.

"Sky…" she struggled to speak, "Sky…did you talk to River?" She wanted to be weak. She wanted to give in and let it be over. She wanted to fall into his arms and love him. But not like this. Not when he wasn't ready.

"Tempest, I don't have to," he repeated.

"You didn't…" Tempest could feel her heart beating faster and faster, "you didn't…didn't talk to her."

"No, I didn't…" Sky repeated once more, growing confused.

"Didn't talk to her…" Tempest breathed, "Didn't talk to her…"

She took a few steps away from him. Her heart and her mind fought to keep control over the storm of emotions whirling through her. Which one was strongest? Which one would she listen to? She could feel her heart tearing itself to pieces.

"Tempest, are you okay?" Sky asked.

"You ran," she told Sky, her voice was barely louder than whisper, "you ran away. Again." She grew stronger as she realized what she had to do.

"Tempest, I-"

"_Shut up_!" Tempest snarled, "I can't believe you…you, _DAMMIT_!" She swung her fist down into the coffee table as hard as she could. The blow made the legs burst off and the table crack down the center. Splinters flew through the air as the crash sounded throughout the room.

"_YOU RAN AWAY AGAIN_!" Tempest screamed, "you miserable, _pathetic COWARD_! All you do is hide and run and pity yourself and hope that everything will go back! Well, it won't go back if you just sit here and hide! I've tried to tell you, tried to _SHOW YOU THAT_ and _THIS_ is what happens?! _DAMMIT, SKY_! You ignored everything I said and tried to do and you come back here and tell me that you _NEED ME_?! _DAMMIT_! _You don't give a damn about me_! You're just looking for another way out! Another place to run to! Well, I won't sit back and watch you do it anymore! _Stay here and rot all alone for all I care_!"

Tempest turned to the sliding door. She raised her right leg and kicked through the glass, shielding her face as jagged edges rained down. She then stomped through the shattered door and spread her crimson wings as she prepared to take off. Before she did, she turned back to Sky and told him one last thing.

"You know something, Sky," she didn't scream, but her words were overflowing with hatred, "_this_ is why your only friends are Pokémon."

With a strong flap of her wings, Tempest shot skyward, into the rain, and was gone.

PureBlueSky stood frozen to the spot for a long time. The rain continued to patter on the balcony outside. It began to blow into the room, wetting the carpet that was also covered in splinters and shards of glass. Nothing was right. Everything was wrong. What had he done?

"Sky…" Flurry's voice was small and timid. She stood up and started walking towards him.

"Uh…I'm…uh…" he couldn't speak. He wasn't sure if he remembered how.

"Sky, she didn't mean…"

"Yes, she did," Sky corrected, "she meant every word of it…" He walked towards the balcony, his gaze aimlessly wandering over the shards of glass on the floor.

"Sky, d-do you need me t-to…to," Flurry began rambling.

"Uh…just…just…go," he held up a hand, "leave me alone…for a little while."

"W-will you…?"

"I'll be fine…" Sky nodded without turning to face her, "just…go."

The door opened and shut behind him. And then the only sound was the light pattering of the rain. He walked forward and stepped through the remains of the glass door. He didn't notice it at the time, but he cut his thumb on a piece of glass still stuck to the door frame.

Sky stood in the rain for a long time. He tried looking up, into the sky, but the rain kept falling into his eyes. He wondered where Tempest had gone. And if she would ever come back.

* * *

><p>The rush of air around her body forced Tempest to grit her teeth. She flew higher than she ever had in her life and dove down, picking up more and more speed until it felt like the air pressure would kill her.<p>

And still it wasn't enough. It didn't make her forget. It didn't make her stop hurting. No matter how high or how fast, it made no difference.

She flew straight north, away from the island. She didn't know how long or how far she flew and didn't care. All that mattered was getting away as fast as she could.

_Now I'm running_, Tempest thought. It made her scream with hate and rage that wouldn't stop.

But soon the blistering pace exhausted her. She realized that she would either have to turn back, find a spot to land, or fall into the ocean and let herself die. She might have picked the last one if she was weaker, but knew only the second one was a real choice. Once again, she cursed herself for being strong.

She climbed back up into the air. She was already so exhausted her wings ached and burned, begging for her to rest. How far had she flown? Fifty miles? One hundred? What did it matter?

She managed to spot a small island a short distance away. It was very small. Too small to be inhabited. That was good. She could be alone for a while. Five more minutes and she'd make it.

With her wings and her body aching, she drifted the final distance. On the descent, she all but stopped flapping and let herself fall.

The island was mostly forest centered around a single mountain. She glided over it for a short time, looking for somewhere to land. She saw a small cave opening at the side of the mountain. It wasn't raining anymore, but she decided to land there anywhere.

Tempest stumbled as she landed inside of the cave. She struggled to hold back the anger and the disappointment and the heartbreak for as long as she could. But it wasn't long before she realized that there was no point.

And so, for the very first time in her life, she folded her wings around herself, buried her face in her hands, and cried.

* * *

><p>AN: I'll be quick.<p>

Sorry for missing Sunday. Going home for the 4th made me lazier than I expected it to. Also, I'll be away this weekend and the weekend after. I'll try to post on Monday, instead, but it'll depend on how tired I am.

Anyway, that's it.

Thanks for reading!


	92. Farin's Gift

Chapter 90

"It does sound like a good idea," Mark missed the end of RiverofTears' match as Silph went on about building a human Pokémon school on Himitsu Island. He had no idea why Silph was asking him personally. There wasn't much he could do to help the businessman.

"So I can count on your support?" Silph pressed.

"Uh, sure…" Mark shrugged. Neither Maple nor Cherry knew how to read, but both were eager to learn. A school, _any_ school, for human Pokémon would be exactly what they needed.

"Aww…" Kim cooed as she watched the two female trainers on the field hug after their match, "that's awesome." The match had been almost as stressful on Kim as it had been on the two that were battling. While Maple, Cherry and Claire cheered and clapped, Kim had spent most of the match nervously fidgeting in her chair and struggling to keep herself from chewing her nails as the back-and-forth battle unfolded below her. With it finally over and RiverofTears' win secured, Kim could relax again.

"Breathe, Kim, breathe," Volt told her.

"Cram it," she snapped, returning to her old self.

"That certainly was an interesting match," Silph commented, "hardly anyone does that well against one of the Four."

"Right…" Mark nodded. The idea of defeating one of them never crossed his mind. Training with Aurum was more than enough to show him how difficult it would be. If, by some miracle, he lasted long enough to come up against one of them, he would do exactly what Cara just did. Winning or losing didn't matter as much as simply making an impression. As long as they remembered you; that was what mattered.

"She's against Aurum next time. Right, Daddy?" Claire asked. Mark quickly turned to look at the Skitty-girl.

"Yes, indeedy," Silph chuckled and ruffled his daughter's pink hair, "first six against six match of the year. Now _that_ will be something else."

"Aurum and RiverofTears…" Mark mused. Round Three would be the quarterfinal match. If Mark managed to last long enough, he would be against the winner in the semi-final. It would be either his mentor or the young woman he just watched wash away her enemies.

However, that was the least of his worries, right then. First, he needed to focus on surviving his fight with Lily. It was his primary goal, but still, he had been pushing Cherry far too hard to get ready. After that long morning, he couldn't force Cherry to keep training.

"You know Aurum, too?" Cherry asked.

"Uh-huh," Claire answered, "he's a little mean, but I like him."

"Yep," Cherry nodded, "he helped a lot when I was training."

"What did you say?" Silph raised an eyebrow.

"Aurum's been training us," Maple happily supplied the answer. Silph turned back to Mark, who fidgeted in his chair.

"Uhh…yeah…" he admitted.

"Well, you are all just full of surprises, aren't you?" Silph grinned, "I had no idea old Aurum was teaching newcomers. You're lucky."

"Really lucky!" Claire cheered. Next to her, Cherry blushed and struggled to suppress a grin of her own.

"It's…temporary," Mark explained, "He only agreed because I just had Maple, at first." He glanced towards Kim and her own human Pokémon. Their friendship was only beginning to come together again. He didn't want to hurt their feelings.

"I see," Silph nodded, "well, if he's still training you now that Cherry's evolved, he must've taken a liking to you."

"Uh…right," Mark agreed.

Evolved? Silph must have assumed that Cherry had evolved into a human on the island. There was no way for him to know that Mark had found Cherry in the Team Deus prison that lied underneath the city.

He wondered if he should tell Silph what had happened there. Silph seemed like a kind and sincere person. He would probably listen. On the other hand, Mark had no proof of what was down there. And he still believed that someone in the Silph Co. had paid for and oversaw the operation. Alfred Silph's motives and intentions for his tournament were pure, but someone was using him.

"I wonder though…" Silph grinned slyly, "Has he told you about RiverofTears?"

"What about her?" Kim stepped in. RiverofTears was no longer on the field, diverting her attention.

"Well, perhaps it's not my place to say…" Silph shrugged.

"Oh, come on!" Kim whined, "Tell us!"

"Pretty please?" Sprinkle added.

"Well, if you must know, then," Silph easily caved, "I have it on good authority that RiverofTears is actually Aurum's granddaughter."

"Really?" Maple stepped forward, "they're…related?" She had met Aurum and nearly all of RiverofTears' human Pokémon yet none of them ever told her.

"Don't take it personal, if he never told you," Silph consoled them, "Aurum's as stubborn as they come and the Four keep secrets as well as any government agent."

Maple, Cherry and Mark all nodded to this. Still, even though they weren't always with Aurum, none of them had seen him with, or talk about, RiverofTears at all. What sort of grandfather never talked about his granddaughter?

"Well, I suppose we've hung around here long enough," Silph announced, "shall we get going?"

"Oh, sure," Mark agreed as the others moved to exit the box, "and thank you very much for inviting us." The others echoed the thanks.

"My pleasure."

Silph ushered his guests out of the box and back towards the stadium entrance. They said their goodbyes underneath the stadium archways. He shook hands with each of them, except for Cherry whom Claire hugged instead.

"Well, we must be going," he told them all, "places to go, people to meet, schools to build. That sort of thing." He beamed at them as if expecting a chuckle or at least a grin, but he went on, "and I trust that you have busy days ahead of you, as well. Battling and training and such."

"Uhh…" Mark had no idea how to answer. He didn't know what they were going to do.

"Oh, but keep that card," Silph told him, "You're welcome to come up to a match anytime."

"WHAT?!" Kim nearly fainted.

"Just a token of friendship," Silph beamed, "take care!"

"Tell Aurum I said 'hi'!" Claire shouted. Their car was waiting for them a short distance from the stadium. The others watched them go until the driver opened the door and Silph and his daughter drove away.

"Well, thanks for a good time, noob," Kim snickered, "I guess I don't have to punch you, now."

"Punch?"

"Never mind," she waved dismissively, "see ya later."

"Wait," Mark called to her, "about Aurum-"

"If you're gonna offer to get him to train us, no thanks," Kim shook her head, "you train your way, I'll train mine. Sound fair?"

"Uh, I guess…" Mark shrugged.

"Good," Kim nodded, "and be nice to your girls." She grinned at Maple and Cherry before turning to leave. Sprinkle and Volt came up to walk beside her, leaving Mark, Cherry and Maple alone together.

Mark watched them go for a few minutes. Before Cherry had run away that morning, he had hoped to spend the day training. He wondered what they could do on such a rainy day.

"Well, what do you want to do?" he asked, turning to Maple and Cherry.

"Uh-" Maple started.

"What do you mean?" Cherry cut her off, "we're going to train, right?"

"Huh?" Mark raised an eyebrow, "you…want to train?"

"Yeah," Cherry nodded.

"I…thought you wouldn't want to."

"No, I do," the Charmander-girl nodded, "Claire said something before. She said that her dad doesn't let her train, because she's too little. And she said that she really wants me to win tomorrow."

"Claire said that?" Mark asked. He paused for a second. "You two really are friends, huh?"

"Yep," Cherry nodded, "so…can we go train?"

"Yes, we can," Mark nodded. Rain or no rain, Charizard or Charmander, Cherry wanted to train.

* * *

><p>Fate was as heartbroken as her trainer after their loss to Farin. There was nothing she could do for him.<p>

She sat slumped in a corner of Cal's office. The boy, Lionel, and Tesla, the human Galvantula were talking to Cal, though she was only half-listening. She knew that she should be outside, hunting down the Meganium-woman with Whisper. But the human Zoroark followed Farin now and Cal had given her no orders. Without any orders from her master, Fate was lost.

"I don't give a damn about your match," Cal groaned at the boy, "go, stay, whatever. It makes no difference to me."

"Well, I was just…wondering," Lionel stood, flustered, "I mean…our original mission…what's going on?"

Cal turned to scowl at the boy. It had only been a day since the loss to Farin, but his face was haggard with anger and disappointment. Lionel took a step back.

"Farin's wiping his ass with our _original mission_," he spat, "it's meaningless now."

"Yeah, but…" the kid stammered, "if we don't do it…won't we…get in trouble?"

Cal laughed maniacally at this, but his laughter was hollow.

Once again, Lionel had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. He had thought that listening to Cal was the right thing to do. Cal was much more experienced and was loyal to the head of Team Deus. He seemed like a strong leader. But next to Farin, it wasn't enough. Farin was crazy and ruthless…and it made him strong.

Lionel wanted to help Cal, but he didn't know if he could. He was registered in the tournament for a match that evening, but should he even go? Did it matter? He had hoped Cal could tell him, but…

The door opened and Lionel scrambled to the side of the room as Farin walked in.

"Oh! Sir! I…I was just," Lionel stammered.

"I heard, dear boy," Farin held up a hand and grinned, "You have my permission to attend your match."

"Really?" Lionel gaped. He had expected Farin to be furious. Instead, he was calm and controlled. He wasn't planning anything…was he?

"Really," Farin smiled and patted Lionel on the shoulder, "just get ready for our attack. We'll need every capable trainer we have."

"Uh, yes, sir," Lionel nodded, "you can count on me!"

"Excellent," Farin nodded, "that's just the kind of devotion I like to hear," he paused to take a long look at his young soldier, "now, please, give us the room. I need to speak to Cal privately."

"Oh, of course," Lionel turned to leave, but stopped after a moment to add another "sir" before he left the room. Tesla followed after him, fixing his cold, solid-blue gaze on Farin. But the man in the violet suit met his gaze and did not flinch underneath it. Then they were both gone, leaving Cal and Farin alone with Fate, miserable in the corner.

"Good afternoon, Cal," Farin greeted, cheerfully, "no one's seen you outside of your office since you're little…rebellion. Are you feeling alright?"

Cal did not respond. Whatever he said, it was a trap. Farin hadn't killed him, but there was still every possibility he would. Cal had vastly underestimated the man and was paying the price for it. His only hope now was to survive long enough to see Farin's plan fail.

"It's true, what I told the boy," Farin went on, "strong, capable trainers will make all the difference. Don't you agree?"

Again, Cal remained silent.

"I know what you think of me," Farin began circling Cal's desk, "you made that clear enough the last time. But big changes are coming, Cal. And you need to open your eyes. All I want is-"

Suddenly, he stopped. His gaze settled on the Gardevoir-woman huddled in the corner. His grin widened.

"Something wrong, my dear?" Farin asked her.

Like her trainer, Fate knew when to keep quiet.

"No need to be shy," he coaxed, "come here. I have something for you."

Fate made no move, only watched him.

From his pocket, Farin produced a ring with a rainbow-colored gemstone in it. He held it up, as a magician might tempt a member of his audience. Fate still did not move, but peered closely at the ring.

"Are you watching, Cal?" Farin smirked.

Fate glanced at her trainer, afraid that she had already been tricked by Farin. Cal turned in his chair. His expression was wary, but curious. He wanted to know what Farin was up to just as much as Fate.

"I didn't come here to gloat, or punish you, Cal," Farin explained as he waved the ring back and forth like a pendulum. Fate's visible eye followed along with it. She thought she understood what it was, could even feel it calling to her, but she couldn't be sure. Farin's every word and movement was laced with poison. Why would this be any different?

"I came to mend fences," he continued, "you killed my Crobat, but that's fine. Nothing too serious. No lasting harm done. It even worked out in my favor. Not a single person is going to back down from their mission. But now I need something different."

"And what's that?" Cal finally spoke.

"I need a second in command," Farin explained, "I have plenty of men. Plenty of good men and women, but not many leaders. For that, I want you," he stopped swaying the ring and held it up, "still watching, my dear?" he asked Fate. The Gardevoir-woman nodded.

With a flick of his wrist, Fate watched a small bulge appear at the end of Farin's sleeve. A moment later, he was holding a brilliant colored gemstone. It filled his palm and was perfectly round and smooth. Depending on the light, it shone in different colors, but mint-green and magenta were dominant. Fate stood smoothly and walked towards the call of the bright gem in his hand.

Like all Mega Stones, Gardevoirite was exceptionally rare. Few trainers had even one Mega Stone and some might search for years and never find one. Each one granted immense power, if only for a short time. Just to touch it would be a dream come true for Fate.

Farin pulled his hand back just as Fate was about to fulfill her dream. She didn't remember crossing the room.

"Ah-ah-ah," he taunted, waving a finger at her, "see with your eyes, not with your hands."

"Where did you get that?" Cal asked, coldly.

"Nothing is too good for my followers, Cal," Farin dodged his question, "it's just a present. That's all." He brought his hand around and let Fate snatch away the gemstone. She clutched it and rubbed her hand over its smooth surface like a witch lovingly rubbing her crystal ball. She even cooed an odd lullaby to it.

"And this is supposed to buy my service," Cal sighed, "you give me that and I do whatever you say." It wasn't a question.

"You forgot the ring, dear," Farin chuckled as he approached Fate with the ring necessary to activate the stone. A charm, a ring, a band, the list went on, but one was always required to work in tandem with the Mega Stones. The two resonated with each other to unlock their power. A trainer and a Pokémon working together were necessary to tap into that power. But, of course, a human Pokémon could fulfill both roles.

Fate took the ring from Farin and slipped it onto her right hand. It was a loose fit, but she didn't mind. She smiled at it. Both the ring and the Gardevoirite began to glow, as if begging to unleash their energy. Fate's body shook with the urge to let it loose and feel what the rush of Mega Evolution must be like, but she controlled herself. It would happen when Cal told her to do it, not before.

"…Fine," Cal sighed like a man twenty years older, "but not because of that," he pointed at the Gardevoirite, "only because I still care about what happens to this team. If you're so determined to gamble everything, then I have no choice but to make sure we actually win."

"We will, Cal," Farin patted him on the shoulder before turning to leave, "we will."

Cal waited an extra minute after the door closed.

"Put that away," he told Fate.

"But, master-"

"I said, put it away," Cal snapped, "don't take anything from him."

Fate turned the Gardevoirite over in her hands, peering fondly at the shining colors.

"We'll need it, though," Fate nodded as she stroked the gemstone, "won't we?"

Cal sighed once more. Was this Farin's real plan? Drive a wedge between Cal and his own human Pokémon? Fate was hypnotized by the thing and all Farin had to do was dangle it in front of her. What did he really want?

"I've never seen one," Fate mused, "but I knew what it was right away. Cal, it's so beautiful. Can't we keep it?"

Cal had no choice, after that.

He hadn't lied to Farin. He would do what the man said, for now. His own life would be on the line as Farin's second in command, but if he simply refused, Farin would kill him.

"Alright," Cal conceded, "but keep it out of sight. Those gems are nearly priceless and we're surrounded by thieves. Don't let anyone see it."

"Okay…" Fate agreed, "but…before I do…can I…just this once…" She licked her lips.

"No," Cal commanded.

"Yes, master," Fate nodded, sadly. She tucked the Gardevoirite away, down her dress. It felt warm, pressing against her chest.

_Soon_, she thought, _soon_.

* * *

><p>AN: hope I didn't go too overboard there with Fate and her…uhh…intense interest in her new Mega Stone…<p>

Anyway, MEGA STONES, YAY!

Generally speaking, if somebody has one, I'll say so, but mostly assume that people don't.

Oh, and sorry for missing the past two weeks. My two mini-vacations drained me a bit more than expected, but I should be able to get back to regular posts now. So, I'll see you Thursday

Just a few more chapters before the long-anticipated Mark vs. Lily match is up.

Thanks for reading!


	93. Rain, Fire, and Candy

Chapter 91

"Bugger…" Aurum muttered as he reeled in his line. He had a bite from a Finneon, but it managed to wriggle free before he could reel it in. If he had grabbed his pole earlier he might've caught the thing. Aurum had been drifting in and out of sleep and had missed the first bite.

Still, it was his first bite of the day and only his third since returning to Himitsu. Once or twice before, someone had told him that fish were more active and willing to bite on rainy days. If that was true, then today would be his best chance at catching something. He had much better luck in Olivine where the fish were less picky about what they ate. Maybe if he used different bait, he'd actually get something.

He ruffled through his pack, wondering if he had any Rare Candies left. No fish Pokémon could resist bait like that. He didn't want to have to resort to such measures, but he was getting desperate. If he could get one to take home, just one, then it wouldn't be such a waste of time.

He found a few half-melted candies at the bottom of a spare pocket. He speared one on the end of his hook, hoping that it wouldn't simply crumble and fall off or simply dissolve away before he caught anything.

Convinced that he was on to something, he cast his line. The sinker on his line hit the water with a _plop_ that could scarcely be heard over the rain. His hook with the Rare Candy on it sank into the lake.

And then he waited…and waited…and waited…

"Unbelievable…" he muttered, "it's a Rare Candy, damn you!"

He took a deep breath to calm himself. They would bite if he was patient. He couldn't think of anything that would make better bait. The damned fish must have known what he was up to. Fish Pokémon were smart, after all. Maybe they were smart enough to recognize the hook as something dangerous. Well, all Aurum wanted was one brave idiot to try it and then he'd have him. Just a little bit more…

"Uh…master Aurum?" a voice behind him asked.

"Shush," Aurum responded reflexively. The voice was the kid with the Leafeon and the Charmander. What was his name? Mark. That was it. But what was this "master Aurum" business?

At long last, something was happening. He could see ripples in the water as something big was moving very fast. Aurum braced himself as the ripples picked up speed, heading straight for his line. He could just make out the very tip of the back fin of a Lumineon.

This was it. This would be his chance. The biggest fish in the lake, maybe even the whole river was heading straight for his line.

"Whoa…that's a big fish…" that was the Charmander-girl. Cherry was her name. Aurum liked her. She had seemed weak, at first, but after he had tested her with Nails, there was nothing he asked that she wouldn't do. The boy should be the one to have that kind of confidence.

"Shush!" Aurum said again. He stood up and prepared himself for his finest hour.

The ripples were getting closer. He could see the hazy shape of the Lumineon beneath the uneven surface of the water.

_Just a little bit more_, Aurum thought, _just a little…bit…NOW!_

There was a hard tug on his line. Seizing the chance, Aurum yanked on his pole in the opposite direction. He shut his eyes and strained, putting all of his strength into it.

"GO! GO! GO!" the Leafeon-girl cheered him on. He liked her, as well. She seemed like a normal, gentle girl most of the time. However, even having access to the Red State meant there was something stronger underneath the surface. A kind of fierce determination and will to fight that made her stronger than any human Leafeon had a right to be.

Almost immediately afterwards, Aurum's line went slack.

"The hell…?" Aurum opened his eyes in time to see the ripples and the tip of the Lumineon's back fin vanish into the water, heading back towards the center of the lake. He reeled his line in and discovered that he was missing the Rare Candy, his hook, and about three inches of fishing line.

"Dammit…" he muttered. Giving up on fishing, for the moment, he turned to his group of students. "You're late. Again."

"Sorry," Mark apologized. Of the three, Aurum liked Mark the least. In fact, he didn't like him much at all. The boy had a decent head on his shoulders, but he lacked conviction. Aurum couldn't help but wonder what the world was coming to when the boy was the weakest of the three.

"Well," Aurum looked them over, "where were you this time?"

"Uh…" the boy fidgeted.

"We were watching RiverofTears," Maple answered.

"Oh?" Aurum kept his gaze on Mark. He would be the hardest of them to train. Pokémon were much easier than humans. "Did you learn anything useful?"

"Uh…sort of," Mark replied, "is it true? That you're related to RiverofTears?"

"Who told you that?" Aurum narrowed his gaze.

"Alfred Silph…"

"Of course…" Aurum sighed, "That weasel…yes, it's true."

"And you're supposed to fight her, next round…"

"Yes. What's your point?"

"Well, you never mentioned her," Mark shrugged, "we were just wondering if everything's okay."

"Worry about yourself, not about me," Aurum scolded him, "now, unless you're here to train, leave me alone. You're bad luck." He didn't want to fish anymore, but he would find a way to motivate himself if his students kept asking personal questions.

"We're staying," Mark nodded, "we have a match in the morning. We need this. Just tell us what to do."

Aurum studied his pupil and his human Pokémon.

"Which one?"

"Cherry," Mark told him and the Charmander-girl stepped forward, "she has to fight a human Ninjask named Shinobi tomorrow. If she can't beat him, we'll lose."

"Very well," Aurum nodded, before turning to Cherry, "what do you know?"

"Uh, Flame Burst, Slash, Smokescreen and Dragon Dance," Cherry listed.

"Hmm…not good enough," Aurum shook his head, "not nearly good enough for this tournament…"

"Is there anything we can do?" Mark asked, "any…special training?"

"No," Aurum dismissed the idea, "the only thing left for you to do is work for it."

"In the rain?" Cherry groaned.

"Yes, in the rain," Aurum snapped, "how else will you learn your limits? Train in your worst element, not your best. You're lucky that it's raining. Sweat while you train so you don't have to bleed in battle."

"Oh, right, uh, yessir!" Cherry almost saluted.

Aurum looked down at the girl and sighed. She was loyal and confident, but she was small, so very small…

_Just one day_, he thought, _it's not enough_. He reached back into his bag.

"What are you looking for?" Maple asked.

"These," Aurum held out the rest of his Rare Candies. There were five in all.

"Uh…they look kinda…smooshed…" Cherry observed. She took them anyway.

"Will they even work on human Pokémon?" Mark asked. He had only come across a few of the incredibly expensive candies in his travels. But he had also heard several stories of trainers that were so wealthy that they regularly fed their Pokémon the treats.

For a short time, some tournaments had debated on whether or not to ban Pokémon that used them. However, it became well known that using Rare Candies alone was not enough to train a strong Pokémon. Without the added effort of battling beside their trainers, such Pokémon were no better than wild ones. Rare Candies helped a Pokémon grow faster, but not necessarily better.

"Yes, they'll work fine," Aurum assured him, "and don't complain. You're lucky I still keep a few with me."

Cherry did no such thing as she opened the first partly melted and flat Rare Candy. She ate the first one rather quickly, but regretted doing so. For the second one, she took her time, chewing slowly as she savored the taste.

"Well?" Mark asked, "Is it working?"

"Mmuh?" Cherry asked. Her mouth was filled with candy, but she swallowed before answering. "Uhh…maybe? It's hard to tell…they taste good, though…" She started on the third.

"Can I try one?" Maple asked, reaching for the sweets.

"Nnmm!" Cherry protested, pulling away from her, "get your own! I'm the one that needs to train, anywarr!" The fourth was in her mouth before she finished her sentence.

"This won't make her weaker later on, will it?" Mark asked. He had heard so many conflicting stories about the usefulness of Rare Candies; it was hard to be sure.

"No, it won't," Aurum reassured him, "they're fine in moderation. Besides, she's finished with her specialty training. That should be enough."

"Last one!" Cherry announced, dangling it in front of Maple before popping it into her mouth, "mmm…" She chewed it slowly and licked her teeth and her fingers when she was done.

"Well?" Mark asked, still a little doubtful that it had helped.

"Well…" Cherry thought, "I do feel a little stronger, but I'm not sure…is there any more?"

"Uhh…well, I don't have any, but-"

"OW! OWWW!" Cherry clutched her head and dropped to her knees. She motioned for the others to move away. Once they were safely behind her, she inhaled deeply and expelled a stream of fire directly over the lake. The reddish-orange flames extended out for a full twenty feet before beginning to sizzle and dissipate. She kept the stream going for three full seconds before she had to stop and catch her breath.

"Flamethrower," Mark grinned, "now we're getting somewhere. Cherry, you don't need Flame Burst anymore."

"Okay," Cherry breathed and nodded quickly before sitting back onto the wet grass, "I take it back. I don't want any more."

"It's alright," Mark consoled as he sat down with her, "you did good."

"Unfortunately, that was the easy part," Aurum reminded them, "Now you have to work for the rest."

"Yeah, I know," Cherry agreed as she got to her feet, "what do I need to do?"

"Now you just train like every other Pokémon," Aurum explained, "by battling."

"Okay, sure," Cherry nodded, "so, do I train with one of yours, then?"

"I'm afraid not," Aurum shook his head, "they're much too strong for you, as you are now. You'll have to spar with someone closer to your own skill level." He turned to Maple.

"What?" the Leafeon-girl looked around, "me?"

"No, your trainer," Aurum snapped, "yes, you. Just don't call out the Red State and you'll be fine." He began walking away to give the two human Pokémon enough space to battle.

"Whoa, wait!" Mark called to him, "both of them? Against each other?"

"Of course," Aurum said without turning back, "the best way for any Pokémon to grow stronger is by challenging another closer to its skill level. And the wild Pokémon here are too weak. Thus, the best way for them to train is by fighting each other. How do you suppose my own grew to be so powerful? They fought each other."

"Uh…" Mark turned back to Maple and Cherry. The two had become very uncomfortable standing where they were. Each one was trying not to look at the other. Neither of them had ever expected to fight the other. "There has to be something else."

"Not if you want to be ready for tomorrow," Aurum concluded before turning back, "fire versus grass in the rain: that should amount to an even match-up. Even if the Leafeon is stronger."

Mark turned back to the girls.

"We don't have to do this," he told them, "we can find our own way." He had been ready to give up training for the day only an hour ago and he never imagined Aurum would ask for something like this. He had no issues with walking away.

On the other hand, in a strange, cold way, what Aurum was proposing made sense.

"Cherry…" Maple started, turning towards the smaller girl, "what do you want to do?"

Cherry turned to face Maple. The two had become friends quickly and had never once fought or even disagreed with each other.

"I say we do it!" Cherry declared. She made a fist and shook it.

"R-really?" Maple asked, though she grinned back.

"Yeah!" Cherry's grin grew wider, "I can take you! Rain or not, I'm gonna win!"

Mark could hardly believe what he was seeing as the two Pokémon-girls walked away and took up positions where Maple had sparred with Katana. Both of them were grinning widely, as if they were going to get ice cream or go shopping together.

"Trainer!" Aurum called, "over here!"

Mark jogged over to the veteran trainer, wondering what he wanted.

"Don't give them any orders," Aurum told him, "just watch and referee. Learn their movements as well as their attacks. Pay attention and you just might learn something."

Mark nodded and turned back to Maple and Cherry. They stood about a hundred yards apart from each other. They waited patiently, as if they couldn't move if no one gave them permission.

"Uh…go?"

The two set after each other without a moment's pause. Maple proved to be quicker, coming up on the smaller girl in just a few seconds. Cherry fired a quick Flamethrower without aiming. Startled by the sudden attack, Maple hesitated and had to weave around the stream of flame. Her fear of fire was obvious in her movements.

The Leafeon-girl regained her composure quickly and came up on Cherry's right side. However, the Charmander-girl was a small target and Maple's first swing missed. Her second caught Cherry across the mid-section and a few drops of blood flew through the air.

Grimacing from the pain, Cherry gathered a deep breath. She shot another Flamethrower at point-blank range. Maple threw up her hands to shield herself, but could do nothing to dodge the flames that covered her upper body. She too winced from the pain, but with the rain dampening the effects of Cherry's Flamethrower, she was clearly the stronger of the two human Pokémon.

Cherry scrambled backwards, trying in vain to crawl out of reach of Maple's vicious Leaf Blade. When the Leafeon-girl was almost directly on top of her, Cherry had a sudden idea. This time, when she opened her mouth, she exhaled a thick cloud of black smoke. Maple had to close her eyes and swing wildly as the Smokescreen obscured her vision.

Cherry managed to get to her feet and put some distance between herself and Maple. She turned back and spied her leaf-shaped tail still swinging at a target that was long gone. The Charmander-girl took a deep breath and prepared another Flamethrower.

Just before she let it loose, Maple stopped swinging and listened instead. She only had a split second to predict where the attack was coming from. But she guessed right as she rolled to the side of the column of fire.

She followed the stream back to its source and caught up to the dumbfounded Charmander-girl. She swiped her tail in a downwards arc and the first round went to Maple.

Mark rushed over, pulling a Revive from his own stock of medicines for human Pokémon. He had to sell most of his old stock to be able to afford what he had, but he could see it would be worth it. But if this kept up, it would all be gone before the day was over.

"Oww…" Cherry groaned as she sat up and her wounds closed. She turned to Maple, "you _hurt_!"

"Sorry," Maple apologized despite her grin and the fact that she was bouncing on her heels. It was hard to be sorry about beating a fire-type.

"Are you sure you want to keep doing this?" Mark asked.

"Yeah," Cherry stood up, "let me at her. I can beat her. I just didn't know she was that quick…or strong…or…I can beat you!"

"O-kay," Maple teased, "but I'm not going to make it easy!"

"Neither will Shinobi!" Cherry shot back, "now let's go!"

Mark stood back, stunned by how quickly their reluctance to fight had become outright eagerness. He gave the call to start again and kept his medicine stock ready. It was going to be a long, strange afternoon…

* * *

><p>Fed up with fishing for the day, Aurum watched the two Pokémon-girls from the periphery. He was pleased to note that the two were becoming stronger much more quickly than he had expected.<p>

The Leafeon-girl especially was much stronger than he had realized. If she activated her Red State, she'd be close to the same level as his own human Pokémon. He wondered how that was possible. Had someone else trained her? He studied her movements, looking for signs.

Yes, there it was. Once, the Leafeon-girl tried something that he recognized. She moved her hands in odd directions and random patterns. It was a misdirection technique. But it was far less effective than when Quickstep used it. Maple did not have the human Mienshao's absurdly long sleeves.

So that's how it was. Aurum wondered who else had taken an interest in this trainer he was teaching. He'd be stupid to think Astral wasn't watching him. He watched them all more closely than a Fletchling watches its chicks.

No matter. There was nothing to be concerned about. It was his own decision to train the boy and his Leafeon. The Charmander hadn't been part of the agreement, but when Aurum learned how little training she had, he couldn't help himself. He was starting to care about them.

He knew he couldn't watch over them forever. Once the tournament was over, their training would end and it was up to Mark to keep it going. Aurum was teaching him the techniques he needed as well. And the more he stayed off to the side, the more the boy had to rely on himself.

Such was Pokémon and such was life.

Much of what he knew he had to teach himself. If he didn't prepare himself, he would lose against the very same method one day. But then he could learn from his mistakes, grow stronger and use what had beaten him before to win the next time. It was no wonder that he believed that teaching one's self was the most effective way to learn.

But sometimes, Aurum wondered if his methods were too harsh. His own son had been unable to reach a professional level and his granddaughter hated him. He had to find out through his human Pokémon that she was engaged and starting a new life. The very same methods he was using on Mark had cost him his relationship with his granddaughter.

And what other choice did they have? The boy and his human Pokémon were all so determined to win they had to take drastic measures. Aurum was not a miracle worker and he made no promises, but it was hard to ignore how strong his pupils had become in a manner of days.

Of course…one of those methods he wasn't so sure about.

He had told the Leafeon-girl to keep the Red State off. In part, it would make her a somewhat more even match for the Charmander-girl. But he also told her because he wanted to see for himself what was happening. If she could keep it under control, there was nothing to worry about. Then again…when was he ever that lucky?

Aurum was disappointed to see that Maple did not have it under control. Not fully, anyway. Even while fighting another member of her own team, Aurum could see the red flashes in her eyes. It would only last for a moment, after the Charmander had finished a Flamethrower. He had hoped it was only the flickering of the flames, but it was always there. It was pounding at her from the inside, trying to break loose.

Her trainer hadn't noticed, or pretended not to. The Leafeon-girl herself might not even be fully aware of what was happening to her.

But sooner or later, whatever she was holding back was going to break loose.

* * *

><p>AN: training chapter.<p>

…not a whole lot to say, really…huh…

Well, I guess I'll see you Sunday.

Thanks for reading!


	94. Family Counseling

Chapter 92

What started as fun grew more and more frustrating as the afternoon went on. No matter what attacks she used or how she moved, Cherry could not beat Maple. Maple only needed to be healed every other round and with weaker medicines. Even if the annoying rain wasn't cutting the power to her fire attacks, Cherry doubted she could ever win. She felt completely outclassed.

At one point, Mark took her off to the side and counseled her on how she was fighting.

"It's okay, you can use Dragon Dance here," he had told her, "nobody will see and you'll be a lot faster. It'll help."

He was right, it did help. But it wasn't enough. Any time she used Dragon Dance was time that Maple could come after her with another Leaf Blade. Cherry could take no more than two direct hits before she was unconscious. After that, the next thing she knew was Mark giving her another Revive and that weird tingling sensation as her wounds closed on their own.

It was hard to tell if she was making any progress. Fire Spin gave her the worst headache yet around mid-afternoon-which was all for nothing because Mark told her it wasn't strong enough to be worth remembering-but that was the only sign. If she was hurting Maple any more than before, she couldn't tell. Of course, Maple was getting stronger at the same time and learning how to fight back. She was less and less scared of Cherry's Flamethrower every time it hit her.

She wanted to beat Maple. If she could do that much then Shinobi would seem like a joke. "Sweat in training so you don't have to bleed in battle." She liked that. Maple was tougher than Shinobi. She had to be. If Cherry could get her just once…

"Alright, that's enough," Mark declared, "let's stop for today."

"What?! Already?!" Cherry yelled. She had no idea how many rounds she had gone against Maple. But the sky did seem a little bit darker…

"It's been four hours, I'm almost out of medicine, and the rain's about to stop," Mark listed, "we're done."

"The rain's stopping?" Maple asked. She held out her hand. She could only feel a few droplets. It would stop entirely any minute.

"Then one more!" Cherry begged, "Let me try it out of the rain! I can beat her if there's no rain!"

"You don't have to beat her," Mark shook his head, "you have to beat Shinobi. And, thankfully, the sun will be out tomorrow."

"But-"

"You can beat her next time," Mark reminded her, "besides; we need to get something to eat. It's almost dinner time."

"Fine…" Cherry crossed her arms, "but we're training more tonight, right?"

Mark thought about that one. More training couldn't hurt, but he was starting to worry about Cherry. It was odd how quickly they had switched roles. Before, Mark was pushing her to train and now Cherry was doing the same to him. Apparently Claire had been able to motivate her in ways Mark couldn't imagine.

Unfortunately, there were side-effects to her newfound determination. All afternoon he had watched her grow more angry and frustrated at her inability to defeat Maple. He had to admit that after a whole afternoon, he expected Cherry to win at least once. Especially since Maple was not always at full strength. Rain or not, Cherry couldn't be that far behind Maple, could she?

Regardless, he could tell that Cherry needed a break. She needed time to relax and calm down before the match. If not, she'd go in still angry and much more likely to make a mistake.

"We'll see," he told her, "now, shake hands."

He made the two Pokémon-girls shake. Their fights had begun on friendly terms. He wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

Mark thought a lot about how friendly a Pokémon match could be while he had watched the two. It was just like when Cara had fought RiverofTears. They may have started as enemies, but they were friends before it was over. The realization came to him that he had forgotten that side of Pokémon battles.

Undoubtedly, it was because of his earlier battles on Himitsu. When he had first arrived, the island was unfamiliar and hostile. He had to learn everything he could while defending himself and Maple against threats like Team Deus and Tristan. Team Deus was still out there, but worrying about it would change nothing. His friends were safe. That was what mattered.

It was clear to him that he had been pushing Cherry too hard. The morning had taught him that, if nothing else. He would have to make it up to her. Show her that battling didn't have to be about winning or losing or who was stronger.

He had a different idea for what to do, that night.

"That was a lot of fun," Maple chirped, taking the smaller girl's hand.

"Maybe for you…" Cherry muttered.

"Cherry…" Mark warned.

"Fine…" she groaned, "yes, it was fun…"

"Good," Mark nodded. He turned back to Aurum. The old man never did go back to fishing that day. Instead he had watched them all from a safe distance away. He watched quietly and did not scold or interrupt them even once.

"We're leaving for today," Mark called to him, "thanks again, for your help!"

Aurum merely nodded and began walking towards his fishing chair.

"So…dinner?" Maple asked.

"Yep," Mark agreed, "you've both earned it."

* * *

><p>Shinobi crouched in watchful silence. His ruby-red eyes darted back and forth over the room's other occupants. He watched for signs of weakness or breaking. But most of all, he watched with hope. Hope that by the time the night was over, his group of friends would be a team again. And they would be ready for any challenge.<p>

"Silver…" Aroma coaxed, "why don't you start?"

"No," the human Absol pouted, "why are we doing this?"

"Because there's been a lot of tension between all of us, recently," Aroma explained, "and we need to work it out."

The Meganium-woman sat in the middle of Lily's bed. On her right, Silver slouched in the desk chair with his arms folded, tapping his foot impatiently. To Aroma's left, Lily crouched against the headboard of her bed. She hugged a pillow while surfing the internet on her laptop, which sat on the nightstand. Shinobi sat sentinel over them all on the opposite bed.

"Come now," Aroma urged like a family therapist, "we're all adults here. I'm sure-"

"Adults?" Silver interrupted, "HA!"

"Hey!" Lily yelled. She grabbed a second pillow and threw it at him. She missed and nearly toppled a lamp, instead.

"See what I mean?!" Silver shouted as he caught the lamp. He said it as though it was all the evidence anyone would need.

"Now, now," Aroma breathed deep to keep herself calm, "we won't get anywhere unless we respect each other," she turned to her trainer, "Lily, don't throw pillows."

"I'm sorry…" she apologized in a small voice.

"And Silver," Aroma turned to her lover next, "don't interrupt."

Silver didn't respond. He only turned away so Aroma wouldn't see him rolling his eyes. This whole thing was ludicrous and unnecessary. What had he done to deserve this? As far as he could tell: nothing. Hell, he had done a few things that should excuse him from this ridiculous scene. Things like…oh, who knows? Maybe leading a rescue mission into the base of Team Deus to save the woman he loved?! Did that ring any bells?!

"Silver…" Aroma coaxed again, this time with a sharper edge on her voice.

"Fine," Silver shrugged and turned back.

"Good," Aroma nodded, "that's good. Now, as I was saying, we're all adults here. There's no reason we can't work through our problems," she paused and took hold of Lily's left hand in her left and Silver's left in her right, "that way we can get along together again. And we can be a team and a family. Now how does that sound?"

"And we can all live in Fairyland, where it never rains but there's always a rainbow, and you can have candy for breakfast and-"

"Silver…" Aroma cut him off, gritting her teeth.

"What?" he groaned, "And you said not to interrupt."

Aroma closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

"If you don't start taking this more seriously," Aroma warned, "then you're going to be sleeping in the lobby tonight."

"Fine…" he gave in, "I'll play along."

"Good," Aroma exhaled. She bounced their hands up and down. "Now…the key to a nice, happy relationship is communication. So, we are going to sit here and we are going to talk."

"What about?" Lily asked. She'd rather go back to her laptop.

"We are going to talk about how we feel," Aroma said serenely, "and we'll find a way so that everyone can feel better."

"Okay…" it was Lily's turn to look away and roll her eyes.

"This can work," Aroma encouraged, "you just need to be open-minded and give it a chance," she paused, wondering how to move forward, "uhh…Shinobi. Tell us about how you feel?"

"Excuse me?" the human-Ninjask responded in his usual, emotionless voice. He hadn't realized that he was included in this.

"HIM?!" Silver was incredulous, "he doesn't feel squat! NEXT!"

"Silver!" Aroma scolded.

"Right, right, sleeping in the lobby," he nodded quickly, "okay, let's hear it, then." He leaned forward and propped his head on his free hand, "how do you _feel_, Shinobi?" Aroma and Lily watched the human Ninjask expectantly.

"Umm…" Shinobi searched himself.

"Take your time," Aroma encouraged.

"I feel…" Shinobi closed his eyes and concentrated, "I feel…sad…"

"Good, Shinobi," Aroma nodded, "thank you for sharing. And-"

"I also feel…disappointed," he went on, never opening his eyes, "Sad and disappointed. Yet also frustrated and angry…"

"And why do you think-"

"Sad, disappointed, frustrated and angry," Shinobi's voice grew oddly anxious. None of the others remembered a time when he put any inflexion in his voice at all. "I am sad, disappointed, frustrated and angry. Mistress Lily loves and cares for all of us. Yet Silver only thinks of it as smothering and restrictive. He responds by running away to Aroma, who gladly accepts. She welcomes him and thinks nothing of Mistress Lily's own feelings. And while Mistress Lily is heartbroken, there is nothing I can do because her only concerns are the feelings of Silver and Aroma. And now we all sit here playing games so that Aroma can clear her own conscious and run away with Silver. I am sad for Mistress Lily. I am disappointed with Silver and Aroma. And I am frustrated and angry at myself because I can do nothing to help."

He opened his eyes.

"Well…uh…" Aroma stumbled, "Silver…do you have anything to say to Shinobi?"

Silver looked at Aroma with an alarmed expression. It was a look that asked if he had heard her right. Had she really just asked him to stop the runaway freight train with nothing more than a thirty-foot nylon rope?

"Uh…Shinobi…" Silver racked his brain, trying to come up with something to appease the ninja, "I…hear what you're saying…and I respect your feelings," _Sweet Arceus, HELP!_ "But…you forgot something…"

Shinobi's red gaze shifted to Silver.

The human Absol took a deep breath before continuing.

"Aroma and I are in love," Silver explained. He squeezed Aroma's hand. "I love her and she loves me. It is very important that we stay true to those feelings. I am sorry that you feel the way that you do, but we do not mean to hurt you or Lily."

He exhaled and leaned back, giving Aroma's hand another squeeze. They all watched Shinobi, wondering how he would react.

After a moment of quiet contemplation, Shinobi nodded.

"I understand," he said in his usual tone.

"There…" Aroma smiled, taking it as a sign, "now don't you both feel better."

"I think so…" Silver agreed.

Shinobi closed his eyes, "…somewhat." To the others' relief, he did not elaborate.

"Good…" Aroma nodded, eager to go on, "and Silver. How do you feel?"

That was the point where it all started to fall apart.

* * *

><p>Maple heard the shouting the moment she stepped off the elevator with Mark and Cherry. She turned to the others, but neither of them heard it yet. It was muffled and far away so she had trouble making it out. She hoped it wasn't coming from Lily's room…<p>

Though Cherry had been frustrated that they weren't going to spend the night training, Mark had convinced them to go visit Lily. They were all friends and he said it was important to stay friends, no matter what happened during their match. So, he wanted to visit Lily. They would let her know that they were looking to a fun, fair match between friends. Whoever won or lost, there would be no hard feelings.

The shouting grew louder as they walked down the hall.

Maple still could not make out any of the words they were saying, but she could tell it was from Lily's room. Mark and Cherry could hear them too. They each exchanged worried glances. This could be very bad.

"I am NOT being selfish!" Maple could hear Silver screaming on the other side of the door, "We're not Pokémon anymore! We can live our own lives and make our own decisions!"

"Silver! Sit down and stop shouting!" that was probably Aroma. Maple wasn't sure because she couldn't remember exactly what Aroma sounded like.

Maple, Mark and Cherry were all standing outside of Lily's room. Maple was certain the others could hear the shouting from this close. No one moved.

"And why are you playing along with this, huh?!" more of Silver's voice, "We don't need to apologize or make up for anything! Why do we have to be the ones to make excuses! We're _in love_, dammit!"

"If you're so innocent, then why do you sneak out every morning?!" Lily's voice joined the shouting.

"So we don't have to deal with you clinging to us every second!" Silver returned, "We need time to be alone and not drag you with us! We had to do it in the woods, thanks to you!"

"EWWW! I did NOT want to hear that!" Lily screeched.

"SILVER!" Aroma gasped. She said something else to Lily that Maple couldn't quite make out, since she wasn't yelling.

"Oh, sure!" Silver went on, "Take her side! Blame this whole thing on me!"

"There are no sides, Silver!" Aroma shot back.

"Uhh…" Mark fidgeted, "we should probably go…"

"Why?" Maple asked. She wanted him to knock on the door.

"Because it's none of our business," Mark shrugged, "we shouldn't get involved."

"But they're our friends, right?" Maple asked, "That means we should help."

"Well, yeah…" Mark hesitated, wondering how he could explain this, "but…this doesn't concern us. There's probably nothing we can do."

"But what if there is?" Maple asked. She raised her hand to knock on the door.

"Maple, don't!" Mark put his hand up.

"What?" Maple blinked at him, "we came to wish each other luck tomorrow…right?"

"Right…"

"Then that's all we're saying," Maple explained, "and then we're leaving. Right?"

Mark blinked back and thought. "You just want to stop the fight?"  
>"Uh-huh," Maple nodded.<p>

"Okay…" Mark agreed, "Let's hope it works."

Maple knocked.

The shouting ended.

There was a lot of shuffling around and harsh mumbling that Maple couldn't make out. Aroma answered the door.

"Hello!" Maple beamed, "your name's Aroma, right?"

"Uh, yes…" the Meganium-woman nodded, "uh…you're…Maple?"

"Yep!" she chirped, "it's nice to see you again!"

"Did we come at a bad time?" Mark asked. His instincts screamed at him to leave and to not get involved any further.

Cherry stayed silent. She had no idea what was happening and part of her didn't want to know.

"Uh, n-no," Aroma shook her head, "c-come in." Aroma stepped aside to let the three enter. Maple led with Mark behind her. Cherry stayed close behind him, just barely resisting the urge to hug his leg.

Nothing was broken and no one seemed to be injured. Mark let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in.

"Hello, Lily!" Maple greeted. She trotted over and sat down beside her, on the bed.

"Uh, hi," Lily nodded.

"How are you?" Maple asked cheerfully.

"Umm…okay…I guess…"

The tension in the air was stifling.

"So…" Mark searched for words, "tomorrow's…our big match."

"Oh, yeah," Lily nodded, though she said it as if she had forgotten what a Pokémon battle was.

"Are you guys all ready?" he asked, looking around the room.

Silver was slouching against the wall. He wore the sourest expression Mark had ever seen a person make. Shinobi crouched on the bed nearest the door, vigilant over them all. Aroma was still back at the door, as if afraid to re-enter the room.

"We'll be there," Silver grumbled.

"It will be an honor," Shinobi added.

"Uh, yeah," Lily nodded, "yeah, we'll be ready."

Maple watched Silver. Every move, every glance, every twitch, she noted. Whatever was wrong, she was convinced that Silver was the source of it. What would she need to do to set things right? How badly would she need to beat him in the morning?

He never noticed. He was too busy trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the room.

"So…uhh...good luck, I guess," Mark was all too eager to leave, "I…hope we can have a nice, fun match…and that we're still friends when it's all over."

"Uh-huh," Lily agreed, "sure."

"Okay," Mark nodded.

"Okay," Lily nodded back.

"Then…I guess we'll get going," he turned to leave, "c'mon Maple."

"'kay," Maple hopped up off of the bed. When she reached the doorway, she called back into the room, "It was good seeing all of you!" A murmur of agreement followed before Aroma gave one last polite smile and closed the door behind them.

"Okay," Mark shook his head and took a deep breath, "let's get going. We all need to get some rest."

"In a minute…" Maple said. She waited at the door a bit longer. Her ears perked high up.

"Maple…" Mark urged, "Come on…"

Maple waited a full minute. There was no shouting. At first, there was no noise at all. Then, gradually, she could hear the soft murmur of normal conversation.

"Okay," she nodded, "I'm ready."

She joined Mark and Cherry as they all left for the elevator. She still listened as they walked down the hall, wary for the sounds of a fresh argument starting.

Now that the sun was down, she was starting to feel tired. But now she also felt energized. Her heart was racing from the excitement of what she just did.

Mark had warned her not to, but she did it anyway. And it was a good thing she had. What would have happened if she hadn't knocked on that door? Would somebody have been hurt? She had no way to know for sure, but she felt as if she had done something important.

And she knew it wasn't over, as well. The arguments could start up again at any time and her friend's life would be all the more miserable because of it. She had to do something. She had to stop it.

It would be several more hours before Maple was tired enough to fall asleep. She was too excited and eager to sleep. In the morning, she would help Lily undo all of the cruel things Silver had done to her.

* * *

><p>AN: awkward…<p>

Remember kids: domestic disputes are no laughing matter. That being said: I had much more fun writing that "family counseling" part of this chapter than I expected.

But now it's time to get down to business. I spent a lot of time on the morning, and most all of the minor characters are where I want them to be, so, time to end the seventh day and get on to Mark vs. Lily!

See you Thursday!

Thanks for reading!

Additional Note: I would have had this posted yesterday, except that my internet didn't feel like working last night. It's still going in and out, so, I'll have to look into that.


	95. Win or Lose, Right or Wrong: Part 1

Chapter 93

The eighth day of the Third Evolution Cup was clear and sunny. With the exception of Himitsu Island's water human and non-human Pokémon, most were glad to see the rain of the seventh day come to an end.

But such small concerns were far from Fate's mind, that morning. She had to follow Lionel to his match the previous evening. The boy needed her nearby to keep a barrier over his mind. If anyone had recognized him, it would be unnecessary to arrest him if they merely searched his mind. Fate went along to make sure that never happened.

The boy had fought with his own half-crazed human Pokémon. They were the same kind of beasts that Farin planned to unleash on the island in just one more day. Lionel won, of course, though it was up to Tesla to finish the match.

The two were close. Fate did not pretend to understand it, nor did she care. Her only concern was the will of her own master.

But it was Tesla who was strong, not Lionel. The boy was a failure, but he was a liability that needed protecting. So, under Cal's orders, she had watched the match and defended Lionel's mind.

However, Fate had done more than simply shield Lionel from the prying eyes of the Four's psychics. Being a comfortable distance away from the screams of the twisted experiments in the basement gave her time to resume her search for the Meganium-woman.

That was what she was doing that morning, as well. She waited a few blocks from the stadium. The Meganium-woman was inside, preparing to watch her trainer fight her upcoming match. She was alone and vulnerable. Fate only needed to find a way to draw her away from the crowd.

She put her hand over the Gardevoirite tucked within her dress. She had everything she needed to complete her mission.

Aroma's death would make a wonderful present for Cal. But it had to be clean. No one could see her do it.

So Fate watched, patiently, and waited for her opportunity.

* * *

><p>Mark had been especially glad to wake up to clear skies. His chances for victory improved dramatically with the rain gone. Cherry would need all the help she could get if she were to take on Shinobi.<p>

The little Charmander-girl was awake before he was. If she was nervous, she hadn't shown it. Instead, she was eager to get to the stadium and fight her match. It was impossible to guess at what her chances really were. She and Mark had done all that they could to prepare. If it wasn't enough, then there was no helping it.

However, Mark was having a difficult time convincing himself of that. After four days of training with Cherry he didn't want to face the idea that it would be all for nothing. She had even fought with Maple, in the rain, for an entire afternoon. He could only hope that Aurum had been right. And that he was nervous for no reason.

"I'll have to start with Cherry," he reminded himself, "She'll probably start with Shinobi. Maple can take a hit, if Lily starts with Silver. But if she starts with Shinobi, then Cherry can stay in." He whispered the words to himself in the stadium locker room.

He was alone. Cherry and Maple were both inside of their Pokéballs. The match would start any minute, so he went over his plans one last time.

His four normal Pokémon were all with him, as well. They had come in handy against Tristan, but Mark had gotten lucky during that match. Lily was not as over-confident and arrogant as Tristan had been. She wouldn't fall for a tactic like that.

It would have to go the way that he planned it. Maple could not fight Shinobi. No matter how strong she was, she simply was not equipped to beat an opponent like him.

Speaking of Maple, what exactly had gotten into her, the night before? Mark had never seen her do something so bold. Did she even know what she was doing? Probably not. Aside from her ears and tail, she might look like a human girl, but there was no way for her to be prepared to deal with certain, very human, situations. Heck, Mark had been human for nearly seventeen years and he still didn't really understand what to do.

Mark shook his head. He had a battle to worry about. Maple would be fine. She was far stronger than Cherry and had already proven to be an excellent fighter. Mark didn't need to worry about Maple.

The attendant finally told him it was time to start.

Rather than the excited whispering he had gotten the last time, the stadium actually cheered his welcome this time. His win over Tristan felt far away, but the crowd remembered. He was a long way from having them cheer as much as PureBlueSky or Sprinkle, but he was welcome in the Himitsu stadium.

His personal fan group had grown, as well. Aurum, Katana, Kim, Sprinkle, Volt and even Eric, Tsunami, and Fernelia all sat together, cheering him on. A few rows behind them, he recognized Quickstep, Flurry and Ian, sitting with a few human Pokémon he did not know, including a Roserade-woman and a Bronzong that Mark was pretty sure was male. Although, he couldn't be sure. He also knew without a doubt that Alfred Silph was up in his box, with Claire at his side. Mark hadn't realized that he had made so many friends on Himitsu.

Mark had to admit, the cheers for Lily sounded a bit quieter than his own. He hadn't really expected that. Lily had just as many wins as he did, she should probably have her own fans rooting for her. He felt a bit sad for her and wondered why that could be. Mark hadn't seen her match, perhaps the circumstances were different. Mark had managed to win with only Maple and a crop of normal Pokémon. Was that the reason?

Mark met his opponent in the middle of the field, feeling more confused by the second. Lily didn't seem to be paying attention. Her eyes were slightly puffy and red. She didn't look at Mark when they shook hands.

"Are you alright, Lily?" he had to ask.

"Huh?" She snapped to attention, "Uh…yeah…I'm okay."

Mark didn't believe her for a moment, but he had no choice, except to let it go.

Something was very…off about this match. Lily was not prepared and she hardly felt like an opponent he needed to take down. She wasn't evil. Not that Tristan had been evil, but…had it been easier to focus on winning? He realized that it had.

A small part of him wondered if beating Lily would be the right thing to do.

"We can start whenever you're ready," Mark spoke gingerly into the microphone on his platform.

"Okay…" Lily took a deep breath, "I'm ready."

"Go."

* * *

><p>When the flashes of white faded from the field, Mark could see that he had predicted correctly. The black and gold form of Shinobi crouched across the field, ready to receive his mistress's orders.<p>

Beneath his own platform, Cherry was wide-eyed as she scanned the stadium.

"How are you feeling, Cherry?" he asked.

The Charmander-girl did not respond. She knew the stadium well from the stands, but this was her first time down on the field. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of people watching her. Her mouth dropped open in awe and her knees started to shake.

"Cherry," Mark urged, "watch Shinobi. The people out there don't matter. Not right now."

Cherry swallowed and nodded. She struggled to get a grip on herself. The crowd was far away. They didn't matter. What mattered was…she could almost feel her neck creaking as she forced herself to turn and face Shinobi.

There he was, just under a hundred yards away. He looked small, and not very threatening. He was what she had been training for since Mark had freed her from Team Deus. Part of her never thought this day would come. It was as if she wasn't really going to fight him. Something would interfere and it wouldn't happen. But now…here it was.

Was she ready? Could she-?

Shinobi was off before she could figure it out. His translucent wings beat like mad, but made no sound. He hovered a few feet off of the ground, darting back and forth in irregular patterns. And he was coming straight for her.

"Cherry, go!" Mark shouted, "Dragon Dance!"

Shinobi had no orders, but he was coming at Cherry like a rocket. Mark had never seen anything move that fast before. He couldn't even be sure Cherry would have the time to finish Dragon Dance before-

"X-Scissor!" Lily's order came from the other side of the field. Shinobi was on top of Cherry before she had even begun Dragon Dance. His arms were crossed in an X in front of his golden mask. A bladed-edge appeared along each of his forearms and a split second later, he slashed Cherry across her chest. The Charmander-girl yelped from the pain and dropped to one knee.

Open-mouthed in shock, Mark searched for blood. He was positive that Cherry would not be getting back up. The attack had been too quick and too fierce. But, as he searched, he soon realized that there was no blood. Cherry might be hurt, but the match was far from over.

Shinobi darted backwards, his wings buzzing all the while. But soon Cherry was after him. She pulled her body in a tight spiral, charging up her Dragon Dance. Shinobi might be fast, but she wouldn't let him get away.

Mark took a deep breath. He realized his mistake. Whatever was going on outside of the stadium, this was still a Pokémon battle. He had let his guard down, but Lily hadn't.

And that wasn't the only thing he realized. Shinobi had struck hard and fast, recklessly rushing at a fire-type without knowing how strong Cherry really was. That had been Lily's mistake. It told Mark something very important. She wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible. She wanted Shinobi to do all of the fighting alone.

Mark remembered that now. The night before, during all of the shouting and all of the fighting, Shinobi had stayed quiet. He was loyal to his trainer. As loyal and devoted as they come. Lily's ninja would fight this entire battle for her. Or she would lose.

Cherry needed to beat Shinobi. And if she could take another hit or two, like she just had, then she would.

"I'm sorry that we have to fight like this, child," Shinobi apologized to Cherry, "but this is how it must be. I must defeat you for Mistress Lily."

"Child?" Cherry groaned, "Don't pity me. I can beat you."

"I'm…afraid you're mistaken," Shinobi corrected, "you see-"

"Shut up!" Cherry yelled back, "I've been training for five whole days to beat you! I said I'm going to beat you, so I'm going to beat you!"

Shinobi blinked.

"Very well…" he conceded, "but I will show no mercy."

"Good," the Charmander-girl nodded.

"Smokescreen," Mark ordered. He needed to change his tactics.

"Keep at it, Shinobi! X-Scissor!" Lily cheered from across the stadium. The distance and uncertainty in her voice were gone.

Shinobi dashed at Cherry a second time. Mark could barely even follow the attack. He bounced off of Cherry almost as soon as Lily finished her command. If anything, his attack had gotten even faster than before. But, this time, Mark noticed the few droplets of blood that dotted the grass at Cherry's feet.

Cherry, however, was still strong enough to keep fighting. She spread the thick smoke over as wide an area as possible. If she could hide within it, she'd stand a much better chance against the blindingly-fast ninja.

When she was done, she touched her chest. Her fingers were red and it hurt, but she had felt worse. So, so much worse. If Shinobi were Maple, she'd have lost already. Cherry smiled a little bit.

"Again!" Lily shouted "X-Scissor!"

Cherry rolled to the side as Shinobi shot passed her. As the battle went on, the human Ninjask was just getting faster and faster. However, it was starting to work against him. Cherry realized that he might be stupidly fast, but all that speed was unnecessary. Even better, he moved the instant that Lily finished her command. So, if Cherry just waited for the commands, she would know exactly when to dodge.

"Flamethrower!"

Cherry was all too happy to hear the order to attack. With her mouth full of fire, she stood up and followed Shinobi's trail through the smoke. She fired her Flamethrower directly at his back.

Shinobi made no sound when the stream of fire engulfed him, but took the hit with dignity and restraint. The intense pain from his injury made him drop a bit closer to the ground, but Shinobi wasn't finished yet. He darted back to his spot, hovering over the smoke cloud that concealed his target.

_I can do it, I can do it_, Cherry thought with overwhelming excitement, _I can beat him! Just a little bit-_

"Don't give up! X-Scissor!"

Cherry wasn't ready for his attack, this time. She stumbled as she tried to escape and she felt Shinobi's X-shaped slash right in the center of her back as she hit the ground.

"Owww…" Cherry groaned as she got to her feet. Her back screamed with pain that just wouldn't go away. That was one mercy that fighting Maple always had: she never once had to endure fighting while still in this much pain.

_Dammit_, Mark cursed. Cherry had managed to take three attacks from Shinobi's X-Scissor, but a fourth was out of the question. Most of his tactics were helping to keep Cherry in the fight, but Shinobi still had plenty left in him. Flamethrower had hurt him, but it wasn't enough. It would take two hits for Cherry to finish him. There was only one way she could accomplish it.

"Dragon Dance," Mark commanded.

Cherry did not like that. Not at all. She wanted to attack and pay him back for hurting her so badly. She felt like she could barely move. Hopefully Dragon Dance would help with that.

Still concealed within her smoke cloud, Cherry performed the Dragon Dance. The cloud was dissipating, but she wouldn't need it for much longer. She bounced back and forth, waiting for Lily's orders. The ninja would never move without orders from his trainer.

"X-Sci-!"

Shinobi didn't wait for the rest, and neither did Cherry. The human Ninjask struck the ground exactly where she had been standing. She dodged him by centimeters.

"FLAMETHROWER!"

Cherry lit up Shinobi at close range. She blew flames over him from top to bottom. Only his gold-tipped wings could be seen outside of the fire engulfing his body. But when Cherry stopped to catch her breath, the ninja was still in the air.

"No…" Cherry gasped and shook her head, "no, no, no…" She backed away. Her eyes were wide with terror. Shinobi was badly burned and still smoldering, but he was still coming at her.

His ruby-red eyes fixed on the Charmander-girl. She had proven to be far more resilient than most of the opponents he had ever faced. But he would fulfill his mission. He would win, for his mistress.

"X-Scissor!"

"Slash!"

Cherry shut her eyes.

When she opened them again, there was blood on her claws that wasn't hers. A moment later, her hand turned back to normal. Shinobi was lying on the ground next to her, unconscious.

Cherry hadn't waited for the order from Mark. She did it without thinking. And she won.

Her knees gave way as she stared at her hand. She…won? She won!

She grinned, then started to giggle, then laughed openly. She collapsed on the ground and rolled back and forth, ignoring the pain from her wounds.

_I won_! She thought with impossibly giddy relief, _I actually beat him and won_!

Cherry laughed until her stomach hurt. Then she decided that she'd better stop. Her stomach, back and chest all hurt like crazy, but she didn't care. She won!

That was when she noticed something else happening. She wasn't sure what, at first, but the sky looked a little brighter. Like somebody had a light-bulb right behind her head and it was making the world brighter. She started to feel funny, too. It was hard to describe, but something…felt different.

She held up her hand in front of her face.

It was white. And it was glowing.

* * *

><p>AN: so…did I actually manage to fool anybody into thinking Cherry would never evolve?<p>

This is also one of those fights where I took a few liberties with the game mechanics. Mostly the fact that speed doesn't actually affect anything other than turn order. Still, what liberties I take, I try to even out for each side.

And I'll leave it to people more hardcore than me to figure out what level Cherry and Shinobi are for her to be between knowing Fire Spin and Inferno, but still take three hits from X-Scissor before fainting.

I'm not that nitpicky, nor will I ever be.

Anyways, thus ends the first half of Mark vs. Lily. For those of you that predicted that this is going to be a much less black and white battle than most, congratulations. We'll especially be getting to that next time with Maple vs. Silver.

Good times.

Anyway, I'll see you soon!

Thanks for reading!


	96. Win or Lose, Right or Wrong: Part 2

Chapter 94

_Huh?_

Cherry stared at her hand. Was she really…?

_But Mark said…_

Was he wrong? Was she really…evolving?

The light coming from her hand grew dimmer and dimmer, and then stopped. Around her, the entire stadium sat in hushed silence. The entire tournament had stopped to watch.

Cherry didn't feel very different. Her hand looked the same as it had before. She didn't feel stronger or more energetic. The pain from Shinobi's attacks was still there. There was only one way to know for sure.

She put her hands up and touched her forehead. Slowly, she worked her hands backwards. If it hadn't really happened, she didn't want to find out. It would be there. She knew it was, but…what if she was wrong?

The Charmeleon-girl flinched when her fingers touched something solid on the top of her head. She was shocked to find it there. But as the realization of what it was sank in, she was overcome with joy.

Cherry smiled again as she put her hands on her horn. It stuck out only an inch or two above her hair. She rubbed her hands up and down the small piece of bone that hadn't been there thirty seconds ago.

"Congratulations, Cherry," Mark called from behind her. Still rubbing her hands over the small horn that told the world that she was a Charmeleon, she turned back to her trainer, who made it possible.

"Thanks," Cherry nodded, "but…how?"

"I have no idea…" Mark shook his head, but still smiled.

Cherry was so happy she thought she might start crying. She was a Charmeleon; one step closer to a Charizard and one step closer to her dream of flying. She looked up towards Alfred Silph's box and waved, hoping that Claire could see her.

Mark could breathe easier after that. Shinobi was down and Cherry had even evolved. He was sure Maple could win against Silver. He would switch her in and give Cherry the rest she had earned.

He looked across the field towards Lily. She had been very quiet since Cherry had beaten Shinobi. Not once had she told them to hurry up and get on with it. She hadn't even sent out Silver yet.

"We're ready when you are," Mark said into the microphone.

"Right…" Lily agreed, "Silver!"

The human Absol appeared across the field. His hands were in his pockets and he let out a long sigh as he looked at the field.

"I thought you said Shinobi would take care of this," Silver reminded his trainer.

"I know…" Lily admitted, meekly, "He almost did…"

"Wait…" Silver spied Cherry, the weakened opponent that had beaten Shinobi, "he was against a fire-type? Why didn't you Baton Pass to me?"

"Well…" Lily hung her head, "I thought you wouldn't…want to…"

"Lily, we've done it a hundred times," Silver could hardly believe it, "I would've done it again."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Silver turned to face his trainer, "whatever happens out there," he nodded towards the stadium wall, behind her, "stays out there. In here: we fight. So, trust me."

"Oh…alright," Lily nodded. Silver was always so cool and confident on the battlefield. Why couldn't he be the same way all the time? She felt like such a basket-case. She should have stuck to her usual plan and trusted Silver to do his part. If they lost, it would be her fault.

"Silver," she called out, "I'm sorry…"

"Worry about that later," Silver shrugged as he turned back to the field, "I can handle the rest."

Across from him, the little Charman-…no, wait, there was a horn on her head. She was a Charmeleon. Well, no matter. It made little difference to Silver. Whatever she was, she had been slashed again and again and was still dripping blood. Yet she was grinning and wagging her tail as if it was the best day of her life. Silver really did not understand women.

She was just a little kid, but Shinobi couldn't take her down. That left her to Silver. The board still showed no losses on Mark's side. That meant that the Leafeon-girl was still in this. She wouldn't be a problem either. Silver would just have to handle this without Shinobi to Baton Pass a few boosts of speed and a Swords Dance to him. He'd be fine.

He bent his head forward as he raced towards the Char…meleon-girl. He moved fast as he anticipated the order before it came.

"Suckerpunch!" Lily called.

Silver grinned at the order. It was his favorite tactic for finishing off a weaker enemy. All he needed now was-

He skidded to a stop. His opening was not going to come. The trainer hadn't attacked at all. Instead, the Leafeon-girl was standing in front of the Charmeleon one. They were switching places.

"Hi Cherry," Maple greeted, "did you beat him?"

"Uh-huh," Cherry nodded and grinned.

"Awesome!" Maple exclaimed, "Wait…is that…?"

"Uh-huh!" Cherry nodded again and her grin grew wider.

"A _horn_?!" Maple bent forward to look at it.

"_Uh-huh_!" Cherry was fit to burst.

"_Sweet,_ _holy Arceus_!" Maple swept the smaller girl off of the ground as she picked her up and hugged her. The two spun in a circle for a few seconds, laughing together.

Above them, Mark smiled as he watched his two Pokémon-girls together. He could feel it. Everything, absolutely everything, was going to be okay.

"Hey!" Silver called to the pair, "HEY!"

They finally stopped spinning and looked at him.

"Battlefield," he reminded them, "remember?"

"Oh…" Maple came back to herself as she looked at Silver. And she remembered what she had to do. "Right…" she set Cherry down and narrowed her gaze at the Absol-man. The Charmeleon-girl faded from the field, leaving them alone.

"Alright, let's be smart, Maple," Mark called from behind her, "you can win, but it's not a sure thing. We'll need to be careful."

"Right, right," Maple agreed. But she was hardly paying attention. She was too busy focusing on her opponent who had lied to and hurt his own trainer. His trainer who was also Maple's friend.

She blinked and let the Red State run through her.

"Whoa…" Silver took a step back, "what the hell is up with your-"

"Shut up!" Maple screeched. She ran right at him.

"Protect!" Lily called.

"Swords Dance!" Mark ordered.

Silver obeyed, but Maple did not. As Silver held up his hands to create the barrier, Maple continued her charge. She swiped at the semi-transparent barrier over and over, but her tail bounced off harmlessly.

"Maple, I said 'Swords Dance!'" Mark called down to her, "what are you doing?" Not once, in the entire time that he had trained her, had Maple disobeyed an order in battle. What was happening?

Silver managed to keep his Protect barrier up until Maple's flurry of Leaf Blades finished. When the girl stopped to catch her breath, Silver let the barrier fall and took a few more steps back. He had never imagined that such a small, slight thing would be so…vicious.

Her eyes were nothing but red. They seemed to burn as wild and violently as a brush fire. There was no way to tell where she was looking, but Silver knew. She was looking at him, she was looking _into_ him. What the hell was he fighting?

"Suckerpunch!" Lily called.

"Swords Dance, Maple! Swords Dance!" Mark wasn't trying to win as he shouted the order. He just wanted Maple back again.

Silver saw at once that Mark's desperate command changed nothing. Maple came at him, ready to start slashing again. Seizing the chance, he darted forward and struck Maple on her cheek. The blow forced her head to twist to the side, but not a single drop of blood fell. Silver had nowhere to run as her tail whipped around and slashed across his ribs. He stared in disbelief as a thin trail of his own blood welled out of the wound.

He bounded backwards, keeping his hand over the open slash mark. If she hit him just once more, he'd be down. But that wasn't what worried him. What worried him the most was that he was suddenly convinced that she wouldn't stop there. Whatever she had done to herself, it made her want to kill him.

Maple stood where she was and blinked a few times. Her head was foggy and her cheek hurt a little bit. Had Silver hit her? He must have.

There was a gap in her memory, as if time had skipped ahead through the last few minutes. She must have blacked-out, like she had against Coraline…

She realized that the Red State must have taken over. She was in control again, but only barely. She began to worry, but then she saw the expression on Silver's face. He was only a few feet away and he was clutching his chest. Apparently she had slashed him after he had hit hurt. He was staring at her in stark terror. She could use that.

"What's wrong, Silvy?" she taunted, "Not used to seeing a girl that's stronger than you?"

"I've seen plenty, thank you," Silver shot back. He was part Pokémon. Gender made no difference when it came to strength in battle. He had other concerns. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?" Maple titled her head in faux-confusion.

"Your eyes," Silver squinted as he watched her, "they were nothing but red a second ago…it's still there, just not as strong."

"Oh, none of your business," Maple teased.

"Are you going to kill me?" he asked.

Maple stared blankly, for a moment. Silver was serious. He was genuinely afraid that Maple meant to kill him. It made her stop for a moment.

The Red State used to scare her, but after she used it a few times, it became easier and easier. She always had control. And if she lost it, it was back after only a few moments. But why did she lose it?

Before the blank spot, she remembered getting angry. She had been angrier than she had been in a long time. Then she just needed to stay calm. If she could do that, then she would be perfectly fine.

"Swords Dance, dammit!" Mark's commands were more like pleas, "Swords Dance!"

"Oh, right!" Maple had nearly forgotten that Mark was even back there. She closed her eyes and spun in place as the phantom swords materialized around her.

"Night Slash!" Lily called.

Silver took the chance as Maple finished her Swords Dance. He leapt into the air and flexed his whole arm. His forearm became covered in the snow-white fur of an Absol as he slashed down the center of his target, leaving a trail of dark shadow behind. At last, a few droplets of blood hit the grass as he dealt some real damage to Maple.

"No," Maple shook her head and ignored the pain, "I'm not going to kill you, Silver. I just want to teach you a lesson."

Silver bounced back. His chest pounded as he watched her eyes. They could change back at any moment. What could he do? With a Swords Dance boost, she'd barely have to touch him. He began to sorely miss Shinobi. He could use a Swords Dance of his own. The only trick he hadn't used was Psycho Cut and that was useless here.

"A lesson?" Silver tried to stall, "about what?" He was afraid to ask. He knew what the answer was. It was the only lesson anybody wanted to teach him.

"You need to stop fighting with Lily!" Maple shouted it, to give it strength.

"Uh-huh," Silver nodded, "and…you intend to beat me until I do it. Is that it?"

"Yes!" Maple shot back.

"Yeah?" Silver taunted, "well, no offense, but the world doesn't work like that. Maybe you enjoy those kinds of fairy-tales, but I don't! Especially since I'm living one and I hate it!"

"You…hate it?" Maple paused.

"Just about," Silver grumbled, "life as a human is a crock. It seems like a nice idea, when you're still a Pokémon. But once you evolve you realize that every dream you came up with was just you being stupid. You didn't understand what you asked for and the world just throws your dreams back in your face. And it's all to teach _you_ a lesson."

Maple hung her head. Was that the truth? Was he right? Only a few nights ago she…she…

"DAMN YOU!" Maple screamed as she charged forward, once more.

"Maple, not yet!" Mark called, "use Synthesis!"

"Protect!"

Silver was much more willing to believe Lily's prediction. A quick glance at Maple's eyes told him how desperate the situation was. He had barely enough time to raise his Protect barrier and defend against Maple's Leaf Blade. Mark's command was ignored once again.

_Great_, Silver moaned in his thoughts, _I just had to say something, didn't I? I just had to piss off the psychotic Leafeon-girl. Son of a bitch…_

His barrier lost the strength to hold Maple back. This would be it. If he didn't take her down, it would be over. And he might not live through it.

"Suckerpunch!" Lily yelled, knowing it was their last chance. Mark, however, did not bother giving an order.

Maple's eyes were still glowing when Silver took his chance. Once more, his Suckerpunch scored a direct hit on the same spot he had hit Maple before. A small spattering of blood hit the ground as his blow made the Leafeon-girl bleed.

But then, she turned back to face him. He stared into those glowing, solid-red eyes for a moment. They were so unlike the gentle, light-brown she normally had. For the very quickest of moments, he noticed something in the corner of her left eye. As her eyes shone red with bloodlust, she was also crying.

When the moment was over, Silver felt her tail slash up through the center of his body. He felt the wound open and his blood spray out. The pain hit him after that, but not for long. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

The Red State continued to surge through Maple's body. It demanded release and satisfaction. It wanted to cleanse away all of the pain that ate away at her from the inside. It wanted blood and death, as well. And Silver's body was lying battered and defenseless in front of her.

She could finish him. She could wipe away the source of so much pain. It would be easy. All she had to do was-

"_MAPLE_!" Mark screamed louder than he thought possible.

Maple flinched. She hesitated as she stood over Silver's bloody, unconscious body. Her tail was poised and ready to finish the job. But she hesitated too long. Silver's body disappeared from the field as Lily recalled him to his Pokéball.

With no target and nothing to release itself against, the Red State fled from Maple's body. The Leafeon-girl stood up and scrambled backwards, clutching her arms as she shivered. She tripped and fell on the ground. She stared at the spot where Silver had been. Had Mark not…if she didn't…then she would've…

"Maple," Mark breathed long and deep, "return."

Maple vanished from the field and disappeared within her Pokéball.

* * *

><p>"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Mark shook his head as he repeated it over and over again.<p>

"It's okay," Lily nodded, dumbly, "nobody got hurt."

"But…we…" he had no words to be able to properly apologize. Silver had nearly died because of Mark and Maple. There was no excuse for it.

"You won," Lily reminded him with a smile, "that's what matters, right?"

Mark shrugged. Lily was only trying to be nice, but he didn't deserve it. The entire stadium was deathly quiet around them. Mark had been declared the winner, but everyone had seen how it had ended. They knew that he had lost control over his Leafeon-girl and she had lost control over herself. Could someone like that compete? Could they be trusted?

"I don't deserve it," he told Lily

"It's okay," she said again, "everything will be okay, if you just hang in there."

"Do you really believe that?" he asked. He didn't believe in much of anything right then.

"Of course," Lily nodded, "I have to."

Mark nodded. Lily was stronger than what he realized.

He turned towards his end of the stadium. Questions floated around in his mind that he was afraid to find an answer for. What had happened to Maple? And why did it happen?

* * *

><p>AN: so, that's the end of Mark vs. Lily. It leads the race for the most depressing end to a tournament fight and…it's probably going to stay that way actually…..not 100% positive of that, though.<p>

Anyway, sorry for the delay. Again. Weekends can get in the way of writing from time to time.

I guess that's it, for now. I shall see you Thursday.

Thanks for reading!


	97. Killer

Chapter 95

Aroma sat frozen in her seat. The stadium slowly emptied around her as she stared at the field.

_He's fine_, she had to tell herself, _he's fine. She didn't…_

She stopped herself from finishing the thought. The Leafeon-girl really hadn't. So there was no need to imagine what Aroma's life would become if Silver wasn't there.

Slowly, she breathed easier.

Silver would be okay, but he was hurt. Lily would make it to the Pokémon Center before Aroma and he would be healed in just a few minutes. It would make him happy if Aroma was the first thing he saw when he woke up.

Feeling a bit better, she stood up to leave.

Lily had lost, but that was okay. They could all use a break from the tournament and Pokémon battles. They needed the time to work out their problems. It was going to be a long, difficult road, but Aroma knew it would work out for the best, in the end. She just needed to have faith.

Aroma felt a little uncomfortable, as she found her way through the crowd. She did her best not to think about the other night. The night when she…

No, she was fine. It was the middle of the day and she was surrounded by people. If anything, the crowd of strangers was the best protection she could hope for. That night – the night she didn't think about – she had been alone, in the dark. She wouldn't be that foolish again.

Still, she wanted to get back to Silver quickly.

She followed the flow of people and their human and non-human Pokémon. It swept down the stairs and back towards the stadium archways. It began to spread out beyond the entrance, but most took the main road back towards the hotel and the center of the island. All she needed to do was keep following that crowd and she would pass by the Pokémon Center.

A strange feeling made her stop.

She couldn't describe it. It was like a prickling on the back of her neck, but somehow…enticing. She looked behind her.

There was nothing there. There was only empty street, and beyond that, Palkia's Woods.

Aroma looked at the woods for a while. Was there something different about them? No, they looked the same. Palkia's Woods was unremarkable to look at. It was merely row after row of plain, even trees.

But why did she keep watching them? Was there something different?

The strange sensation came back, again.

She couldn't be sure, but it seemed to be directing her towards the woods. It seemed to nudge at her and urge her on. Something was out there; something that was calling to her to come closer.

The Meganium-woman looked back towards the flow of people leaving the stadium. The number of them was growing thinner. It was less a flow than a trickle.

She knew she should go that way. Silver and Lily and even Shinobi were waiting for her to return to them. She especially wanted to see Silver again. He could be rough, and maybe even a bit selfish. But he had a good heart and loved her very much.

But…

For a third time, the strange sensation called out to her. It felt stronger that time, but also weaker. As if it were calling to her with the last of its strength before it would fade away entirely.

Aroma had no idea what was waiting for her as she turned away from the city and began walking towards Palkia's Woods.

* * *

><p>Fate gasped as she broke off the connection with the Meganium-woman. She felt something warm underneath her nose. She wasn't at all surprised to see blood on her fingers when she touched it.<p>

A few suggestions were the best she could manage. She wasn't strong enough to do anything more. Maybe with the Gardevoirite she could've, but she didn't know how long its power would last. She couldn't risk wasting it.

Aroma would fight back. There could be no doubt of that. But as long as Fate could separate her, she could handle one Meganium-woman.

Fate took a moment to catch her breath. Even those small suggestions had drained her of an immense amount of energy. She would have to trust to luck that it was enough.

Her quarry was walking towards Palkia's Woods. That was what mattered.

It was enough.

Fate put her hand over the Gardevoirite as she stood up. She felt so light-headed, she nearly fell over. She leaned against the building at her back, trying to regain her strength. If she didn't move, Aroma could get away and she would miss her opportunity.

She thought of her master, Cal, suffering under Farin's rule back at the underground base. She thought about how proud and overjoyed he would be to know that she had killed the woman who knew who he was. Cal would go back to being a ghost in the crowd, as any successful thief should be.

Yes…she would do this for him.

Fate stumbled at first, but her steps grew steadier as she walked towards Palkia's Woods.

* * *

><p>"It still feels kinda weird…" Cherry said for the third time as she rubbed her hand along her new horn. She prodded at it like a missing tooth. One hand rubbed the bit of bone while the other held onto the lollipop that the nurse had given her.<p>

Maple wanted to be happy for her, but she was having a hard time feeling anything but afraid. She had no memory of attacking Silver. There was the moment where she was about to kill him, but before that, there was nothing. There were only brief flashes of blood and pain. Silver was lucky to be alive.

Both Pokémon-girls were fully healed of their injuries. Neither had suffered anything too severe, so they waited in a normal patient's room for the nurse to dismiss them. Mark watched over them as he leaned against the counter. He hadn't said anything since the match, except to answer any questions the nurses had for him.

Maple was waiting for him to scold her. She had disobeyed and lost control. Mark should be furious with her. Instead, he stood silently by.

"I wonder why it happened…" Cherry mused, "I mean, I've been strong enough to evolve for a while, but…it just didn't happen. Do you think it's because I was, like, just super happy to beat Shinobi?"

"Anything's possible," Mark shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Cherry sucked on her lollipop for a bit, "maybe I, sorta, pushed myself extra, extra hard, or something."

Again, Mark shrugged.

"You're no fun…" Cherry scuffed her shoe against the floor and went back to her lollipop. After a few seconds, she bit into it and picked the stick clean. She held onto it, chewing on it like a toothpick.

"What's with you two, anyway?" she asked, bored with the silence.

"Uhh…" Maple wanted to explain, but didn't know how to start.

"Cherry," Mark stepped in, "could you give us a minute?"

The small Charmeleon-girl looked back and forth between the two. It was another one of those situations she didn't understand. She hated them.

"Fine…" Cherry groaned. She opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

Neither Maple nor Mark said anything. A clock on the wall ticked loudly. Maple could barely stand it, but she had no idea how to explain what had happened to her.

"Maple…" Mark finally began, "I'm not angry. I'm just…confused."

"Okay," Maple nodded.

"You have control of the Red State…right?"

"Uhh…I think…"

"You think?" Mark asked, "You mean…you're not sure?"

"I usually do…"

"But you lost it."

"I guess so…"

"Do you know why?"

"Umm…" Maple thought. She did know, but she didn't want to tell him.

"Maple, if you know something, you have to tell me," Mark insisted.

_You mean like how you told me about Suicune?_ She thought, but didn't say.

"Maple?" Mark asked, as if making sure she was still listening.

"I don't know anything!" Maple yelled.

"Alright," Mark put up his hands, "I'm sorry. I just want to figure this out."

"Well…good," Maple crossed her arms, "you do that."

The uncomfortable silence returned.

Maple began to wonder if Mark would ever figure it out. Would he ever realize the reason that she was losing her grip on the Red State? She was afraid that he wouldn't.

"I'm going to go find Cherry," he told her, "I'll be back soon."

Without looking at her, Mark opened the door and disappeared into the hallway.

Maple sat alone for a while. She wondered what was next, now that they had won their second match. Cherry would still need more training, especially if she wanted to be a Charizard. Maple supposed that she would train with her. She didn't mind, but even during those short sessions, she could feel the Red State creeping in.

What if she kept losing control over it? What if she hurt Cherry as badly as she had hurt Silver? She might never be able to battle again.

But the part that scared her most about the Red State was how good she felt when it was over. It made her feel free; as if everything she ever felt ashamed or uncertain about held no meaning anymore. She wanted to run to it and forget everything else around her.

And that was wrong. The feeling that it told her was wrong. It was easy to give into it because it was so wonderful. But it was lying to her. That feeling had nearly killed Silver.

She stood up to leave the room. She had to apologize.

Slowly, she entered the hall. She checked left and right, hoping to avoid running into Mark and Cherry. Thankfully, the hallway was empty. Her ears stood on end as she listened for any sign of Silver or Lily. From a few doors to her left, she overheard a voice that sounded like Silver.

"We had a good run for our first tournament," he was saying, "we really did."

"I know…" Lily's voice responded, "I just…"

"Yeah, yeah, you blame yourself," Silver said dismissively, "you always do that. But, honestly, against that Leafeon-girl, a Baton Pass probably wouldn't have made much difference. You didn't see the look in her eyes."

Maple stopped, with her hand on the door.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it wasn't her," Silver tried to explain, "It was like she was possessed by something."

"Possessed?"

"Yeah. And she was fighting it back the whole way, too. She would get pissed and it would just…take over."

"That's weird…"

"Yeah…my big mouth nearly got me killed. Not sure what I said, exactly. But, _man_, did she ever get _pissed_."

"What did you say?"

"Beats me. Something about life not being a fairy-tale."

"That doesn't sound…_too_ bad…"

"Is it 'kill-this-asshole' bad?"

"No…"

"Then you see my point."

"Silver! If there's something wrong with her, then it's not her fault!"

"Would you be saying the same thing if she _did_ kill me? She's dangerous. She shouldn't be out there."

Maple was beginning to feel something horrible settle in the pit of her stomach. Silver didn't trust her. He might even hate her. What could she do? Would he listen to anything she had to say? She almost walked away.

"I…she cares about us, though," Lily came to her defense, "Her and Mark. That's why they visited last night, right?"

"She cares about _you_, not us."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means she told me to leave you alone. She blames me for everything that's happening between us…"

"Why would she…?"

"Like I said, she cares about you, not us. But it's like Aroma says, it'll take time, but we'll be okay. We just…need to adjust."

"So, does that mean you're staying?"

"…yes, we're staying."

Maple could hear Lily cheer and start giggling.

Maple had no idea whether to stay or go. She was short on time, as well. Mark and Cherry could come back any second and she'd miss her chance.

She was terrified that Silver might not listen to her and, in a way, she understood. But what about Lily? She might listen, or she might side with Silver and blame her for everything. If Maple apologized, it might not fix anything and they would still hate her. But if she didn't apologize as soon as she could, then it would only get worse.

Still terrified and dreading the answer, Maple knocked.

Once Lily's voice told her it was okay to come in, she gently opened the door and slipped inside.

"Umm…hi," she greeted. Lily, Silver and Shinobi stared blankly at her until she lowered her gaze to the floor. Aroma wasn't with them.

"Umm…I'm…sorry about before," she apologized.

"For flipping your lid?" Silver raised an eyebrow, "you'd better be."

"Well…umm…"

"You almost killed Silver!" Lily gasped.

"Well, I know, but…"

"But you didn't," Silver shrugged, "yeah, you're a real hero. Why'd you come here, anyway?"

"Well…uhh…" Maple stumbled. This was not going the way she hoped it would. "I just…we're still friends, right?"

"Not with me, you're not," Silver shook his head. He glanced at Lily. His trainer seemed unsure at first, but if she had to choose between Silver and the Leafeon-girl, her choice was obvious.

"You should go, Maple," Lily told her.

"But…but…"

"Leave," Silver snarled, "and maybe the next time you've got issues to work out, you'll leave it off the field. Maybe that way you won't end up killing somebody."

"Huh?" Maple stared, "w-what?"

"You know damn well what I mean," Silver started towards her, "it wasn't me you were fighting out there. And I don't appreciate being your punching bag."

"Now, wait! I didn't-" she started to walk towards Silver, but Shinobi darted in front of her, cutting her off.

"I apologize," he told her, "but I can't allow you to come any closer."

"I…"

Maple looked around the room. Shinobi stared at her with his usual cold gaze. Silver stood behind him, gritting his teeth in anger. Lily stood a short distance behind him on his right side; her eyes were sad, but stern. Maple did not have any friends in that room.

She backed away, hoping that they would change their minds. She fumbled for the door-handle and finally found it.

When the door shut behind her, Maple leaned against it. Tears flowed down her cheeks. Breathing felt impossible, but she managed as she soundlessly cried.

"Maple?"

Mark's voice called from up the hallway.

"Maple, what's wrong?" he stood in front of her, staring in disbelief.

She held onto him as tight as she could.

* * *

><p><em>There's nothing out here<em>, Aroma told herself. She stood in a small clearing within Palkia's Woods. The trees had let her pass, as they usually did, but this was an area she hadn't seen before. Whatever had caught her attention before was long gone.

Her head felt a little foggy. Why had she come so far out into the woods? She couldn't remember. And when she thought about where she should be the idea of going to Palkia's Woods seemed crazy.

"I must be losing it," she said aloud. She started back through the trees, towards the city.

That was when she first heard the rustling coming towards her. She wasn't alone.

"Hello?" she called out.

The Gardevoir-woman made no effort to disguise herself as she entered the clearing. Aroma had never seen her before, but her very presence was terrifying. Her only visible eye studied Aroma with no emotion; as if she were only an inanimate object, like a target. Aroma backed away and watched.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter," the Gardevoir-woman responded, "what matters is what happens next."

"What do you want with me?"

"Two things," she explained, "the first, is to thank you."

"For what?"

"It doesn't matter," the Gardevoir-woman shook her head, "you wouldn't understand."

"…alright," Aroma nodded, "what's the second?"

In response, the stranger put her right hand over her chest. It was then that Aroma noticed the ring with the rainbow-colored gem on it. The Gardevoir-woman lifted her other hand and pressed on the gem before holding it high above her head.

Rays of magenta-colored light began to radiate out of the ring. A spot about the size of a Pokéball began to glow within the Gardevoir-woman's dress. A solid sphere of what looked like rock formed around her, blocking Aroma's view. A moment later, it shattered and disappeared as the Mega-Evolution finished.

The Gardevoir-woman in front of Aroma was no longer the same woman. Her dress billowed outwards at the hips, like a ball-gown. Yet the train extended back at least an extra foot. The pinkish gem in her chest was now heart-shaped. But, most striking of all, her hair had parted, letting both of her eyes be seen.

Aroma stood in awe as the transformation finished. She could see the joy and the release in the woman's eyes as the power flowed into her. But there was still no sympathy and no remorse.

The newly evolved Gardevoir-woman held up her hand.

Aroma had to shut her eyes and look away as an intense light shone out of the Gardevoir-woman's palm. The Dazzling Gleam burned at Aroma's eyes, forcing her to shield her face as she tried to stumble away.

Concentrating, she clasped her hands together and lifted them in front of her. Next, she spread them wide apart. A thin, translucent membrane began to form between Aroma and her attacker. The Light Screen glimmered gold beneath the mid-morning sun as Aroma finished creating her barrier. She could not hope to defeat the Gardevoir-woman. She could only buy time. But she had no idea how much she needed.

Aroma's attacker held out her hand, palm open. A split-second later, Aroma felt the hammer-blow of Psychic slam into her mind. She dropped to one knee as blood began to flow from her nose. With the Mega Stone's power boosting the Gardevoir-woman's attacks, Aroma's Light Screen made little difference.

In desperation, Aroma formed a small seed in her hand, her only chance at survival. But she could hardly see or think and when she tossed the Leech Seed at her attacker, it fell an entire foot short.

Another Psychic attack hit Aroma hard, forcing her to the ground. The pain was so much, she could barely see straight.

"Why are you doing this?" Aroma pleaded.

"I have to," the Gardevoir-woman told her, "for him." After the next Psychic attack, there was only darkness.

* * *

><p>Fate walked towards the Meganium-woman lying on the ground. She still breathed, even though her mind had forced her body to stop feeling.<p>

Fate took no joy in what she did. She was not Whisper. It was duty, not bloodlust that drove her towards the helpless woman.

The Gardevoirite had made it even easier than she expected. Aroma had never screamed for help. Perhaps she knew it wouldn't come. Fate had been too careful to allow for it.

"Si…Silver?" Aroma muttered, "wh-where…Silvy…?"

_Calling for her lover_, Fate thought. She supposed that made sense. Silver could help her no more than anyone else, but she wanted him all the same.

For a moment, Fate wondered if Cal would call for her in his last moments. She suspected that he wouldn't. It didn't matter.

She bent down and put her hand against Aroma's forehead. One more blow and it would be finished.

Aroma smiled at her touch. Fate had no idea why.

Aroma's body jerked reflexively once…twice and then was still. She didn't breathe anymore.

Fate shut off the flow of energy from her Mega Stone. She turned back to normal as the power faded from her body. And so, she stood up and left the clearing, leaving Aroma's body where it lay.

* * *

><p>AN: and it just gets worse…<p>

I'm not especially happy with my description of Mega-Evolution, to be honest. There's a lot going on during the game's animation. I think I got the core of it, but not much better.

What do you guys think? Somebody oughta be able to top that.

Oh, also, I had a different kind of delay this time around. I started writing part of this chapter, then realized part-way through that it could be its own chapter. so, I ended up writing the next chapter first and this one second.

So, that one will be up Sunday.

I suck with deadlines. Self-imposed ones, anyway.

Anyway, see you next time.

Thanks for reading!


	98. The Red Mystery

Chapter 96

"So, what happened, Astral?" Quickstep asked the mystic human Bronzong.

"And you are asking me about this…why, exactly?" he peered at Quickstep.

"Because you know everything," Quickstep explained, "you always know everything."

"I do not know everything."

"Close enough, if you ask me."

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Quickstep. However, I am not as omniscient as you say."

"Bless you."

"I did not-!"

"Whatever. You're clearly useless," he waved Astral away, who now had a sour expression on his face, "what about you, Katana? This was your idea, after all."

"You would've done the same," she shrugged as she examined the curved, Weavile-like claws on the end of her hand as though she were admiring her latest manicure.

"Let that demonic crap run through a pretty, little blond?!" Quickstep gasped, "I think not!"

Katana sighed and flexed her hand back to a normal human one. She took a step closer to the human Mienshao. "And when she looked at you with those big, soft, brown eyes, begging you for help?" She put her chin in her hands, puckered her lips and made her eyes go wide.

"You know, you're actually kinda cute, when you want to be…" Quickstep teased.

"Go to hell," Katana dropped the act and turned away.

"All in favor of making Quickstep wait outside?" Briar raised her hand and looked around to see if anyone seconded the motion.

"Oh, shut up, Briar!" Quickstep groaned more than he yelled, "you're just pissed that you weren't the first to know!"

"She's a young girl using the Red State and has only been human for two weeks," Briar explained, "I don't need to see the future, like Astral, to see something like this coming."

"I cannot actually-"

"Fine, fine," Quickstep interrupted the human Bronzong, "I guess we all kinda suspected, really."

"It could've been worse," Katana pointed out, back to examining her claws.

"Again with the excuses, Katana!" Quickstep threw up his hands.

"Asshole!" the young Weavile-woman took a step forward and transformed her other arm. Her claws shone brightly, even beneath the dull lights of the Pokémon Center, "you want to go right here, right now?!"

"Bring it, bitch!" Quickstep grinned and took a wide stance, "I will Hi Jump Kick you into the semi-finals!"

"Both of you, stop it!" Flurry stepped forward between them and put up her hands, "no one's blaming Katana."

"I am," Quickstep made a motion as though he were trying to get a waiter's attention in a crowded restaurant.

"That's because you don't like taking responsibility," Flurry accused.

"Whoa-ho! Easy there, Flurry!" Quickstep held up his hands, beneath his sleeves, "this is a rough time for all of us, remember?"

"And yet you're just as annoying and careless as always," Flurry whirled on the human Mienshao.

"I'm used to it. I don't go to pieces every time the fit hits the shan," he shrugged, "frankly, I'm surprised Tempest didn't leave sooner. But, hey, at least she finally realized that Sky's gonna keep sitting up there, wasting away until-"

Flurry slapped him.

"Thank you," Katana sighed.

Despite the praise, Flurry shook as she fought to keep tears back. She stormed away from the group and collapsed into a chair, beside Ian. The normally energetic young boy had been silent since Tempest had left PureBlueSky. No one knew how to help the broken-spirited champion. Most didn't care.

Kim had heard every word of the conversation, but she understood little of it. Astral and Briar were strangers to her, but Katana, Flurry and Quickstep weren't much better.

They must have been talking about Maple and maybe why she hadn't listened to Mark during the match. Beyond that, it was hard to piece the details together.

Volt sat next to her with his crescent-shaped ears perked up to catch the details of what the other human Pokémon were talking about. Used to being the center of attention, Sprinkle took a more proactive approach and hung around the edge of the circle. With Flurry's departure, she seemed to be debating if it was alright for her to fill the hole left behind.

"See what you did?!" Katana accused Quickstep.

"It's the truth, isn't it?" Quickstep shrugged, dropping all humor from his voice.

"Be that as it may," Briar attempted to move on, "we still need to decide what to do."

"I suppose I can teach her a few relaxation techniques," Katana offered, "they're not a sure thing, but they'll help."

"You ever lose control like that?" Quickstep asked.

"Not since the first time," Katana shook her head, "I never had a boyfriend, either," Quickstep opened his mouth to respond. "That wasn't an offer," Katana cut him off.

"Fair enough," Quickstep shrugged, "but you know where to find me."

"Umm…excuse me…" Sprinkle edged into Flurry's old spot, between Briar and Astral.

"Forget what I said, Katana," Quickstep's eyes widened as he looked at the curvy Vaporeon-girl, "what can I do for you, sweetheart?"

"I hate you," Katana mumbled.

"Uhh…I was just wondering…" Sprinkle did the thing where she hugged her chest, "you're talking about Maple…right?"

"That we are, honey," Quickstep nodded, "are you two friends?" after a second he added, "Astral, out of my head."

"As if I would-"

"Quiet," Quickstep cut him off, "pretty girl talking."

"Well, I was just wondering…" Sprinkle looked down at the floor, then lifted her eyes just enough to bat her eyelashes at Quickstep, "is there…something wrong with her?"

"Wellll…" Quickstep drew out his response, "not wrong, per se…she's just…uh…how do I put this?"

"Stressed," Katana stepped in.

"What do you mean?" Sprinkle turned to Katana.

"There's a…secret technique that some human Pokémon have access to," Katana explained, "we-"

"You," Quickstep interrupted.

"…Fine," Katana sighed, "_I_, taught her how to use it. But, unfortunately, it's…difficult to control under high stress."

"Is it dangerous?" Sprinkle asked. Without the need to speak to Quickstep, she no longer hugged her chest or batted her eyelashes.

"Not to her, no," Katana shook her head, "but…she could be a danger to others, if she can't maintain control."

"Like during the match…" Sprinkle reflected.

"Right," Katana nodded.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Quickstep asked.

"Sprinkle," she answered quickly, then turned back to Katana, "will they let her compete?"

"Oh, sure," Katana explained, "hardly anyone knows about it…and, strictly speaking, killing your opponent isn't necessarily illegal. Accidents happen."

"Oh…" Sprinkle hung her head, unsure of how to react to that sentiment.

"Not to be rude," Briar interrupted, "but should we really be telling her this?"

"It's fine," Katana explained, "she's friends with Maple. I've seen her before."

"I don't really remember you…" Sprinkle said. She searched her memory for an earlier time that she had met Katana.

"It is safe," Astral opened his eyes. Sprinkle hadn't noticed, but he must have been deep in thought. "She's trustworthy," he turned to face Sprinkle directly, "and my sympathies to you and your trainer."

"Did you just…?"

"See?!" Quickstep accused Astral, "people don't like being mind-probed!"

"It was necessary," Astral explained to Sprinkle, "also, Quickstep," he turned to the human Mienshao, "you're wasting your time."

"How much did you see?" Sprinkle backed away.

"Enough to know who you are," Astral admitted, "nothing more."

"Then you know…" Sprinkle glanced over at Kim.

"Yes," Astral nodded, "do not be afraid. Your secret is safe with me. If it is any comfort, many human Pokémon evolve for similar reasons. Not all scars heal as easily as our battle wounds."

"Uh…yes," Sprinkle nodded.

"Secrets?" Briar snapped to attention at the scent of gossip in the air, "what secrets? What did you see?"

"No, Briar," Astral sighed as though he were talking to a toddler, "this is too personal."

"Umm…I'm gonna go," Sprinkle backed away farther.

"I don't blame you for a moment," Katana called after her.

"And…there she goes…" Quickstep hung his head for a brief moment, "dammit, Astral, why do you always have to scare away the pretty ones?"

"Never mind that," Astral held up a hand, "Mark and Maple are coming."

* * *

><p>Mark led Maple out to the lobby. He kept his arm around her shoulders as she tried to sniff back her tears. He had given her a few tissues from his pack, which she used to occasionally wipe her eyes. Cherry followed close behind. The small Charmeleon-girl was bewildered into silence.<p>

Mark only recognized half of the four human Pokémon that were waiting for them. He knew Katana and had crossed paths with Quickstep, but the human Bronzong and Roserade were both strangers. Whatever was going on, it was big. But he hardly cared.

"Where's Aurum?" he asked them all.

The four of them exchanged glances, but no one answered.

"I said," Mark began, with more force, "where's Aurum?"

"Here," the old trainer grunted as he rose to his feet. He walked around the lobby chairs, standing separate from the group of human Pokémon.

"Tell me everything," Mark demanded.

"You know everything," Aurum shook his head, "I've told you everything we know."

"Then you don't know enough!" Mark snapped.

"Hey," Quickstep stepped forward, "easy, kid. We're here to help."

"Because you've been such a great help, so far?" Mark accused him. He knew that he should be calm if he wanted to solve this. But it felt impossible. Maple was losing control without knowing why. Someone had to pay for that.

"You people did this to her!" he went on, "we didn't ask for this!"

"You asked for help," Aurum said sternly, "we gave you help."

"This isn't helping!" Mark shot back.

"Shut up, both of you!" Katana cut in, "it doesn't matter whether we taught you or not. It's _in_ her. It would've come out, eventually."

"Mine hasn't," Quickstep added, a little too cheerfully.

Katana turned and glared at him.

"What?" he gave a sly grin back, "I _could_ use it. But I'd rather not, thank you very much."

"Alright," Katana nodded, "but you feel it in there, right?" she walked closer until she was inches away from his face, "you can feel it clawing at you from the inside. It wants to get out and run loose and it hardly cares what you want. It whispers to you. It tells you that it's right and that's how it should be. Every time you hit a sweet spot or beat a tougher opponent, it's there, eager to be set loose."

Quickstep had to look away as Katana went on. In the end, he lowered his head and muttered one word, "…yes."

All eyes were on Katana when she turned back.

"Tempest and I didn't get a choice," she told Mark, "we didn't know what it was when it took us over. If anything, we spared you from having to face it alone," she turned to the group of human Pokémon around her, "and you all remember what happened when it first took over Tempest."

The others nodded together. Sky still had the scars from that day.

"So it can't be cured or even prevented," Mark shrugged.

"No," Katana told him, "but it can be controlled. Channeled, you could say."

"Then you do know something else," Mark shrugged. He knew it.

"We didn't believe it was necessary," the human-Bronzong told him, "but circumstances have changed."

"Yeah," Quickstep rolled his eyes, "apparently we all forgot what it was like being a teenager."

"Some of us skipped it," the Roserade-woman said in a not-quite-bragging tone.

"Who are you two?" Mark asked the Bronzong and Roserade.

"I apologize," the human Bronzong stepped forward, "my name is Astral. This is the first we've met." He extended his hand, and Mark shook it. Astral's steel-gray robes, staff, and manner of speech reminded Mark of a magician. Not a street performer, but the kind of magician one read about in fantasy books.

"You're the one that reads minds," Mark remembered.

"Yes," Astral nodded his confirmation, "I hope that you do not find it to be too…intrusive. But it is necessary."

"I have nothing to hide," Mark said it easily enough, but he wasn't sure if he believed it. He realized that Astral would know that. It would take some time for him to adjust to being in the presence of a real live mind-reader.

"Call me Briar, dear," the Roserade-woman extended her right hand. It was covered in a red glove, while the left was hidden beneath a blue glove.

"I don't think I've heard of you…" Mark searched his memory.

"Really? A pity…" despite her words, Briar was unsurprised, "I met your sweet Maple a few days ago. She's the talk of the Four, you know."

"Maple?" Mark glanced at the Leafeon-girl at his side. She was no longer sniffing back tears, but she kept her head down and had been quiet ever since Mark had found her. He had no idea what had happened, but it must have involved Lily and Silver. He knew it was a bad idea to get involved.

"Don't be too hard on her," Briar advised, "She's still very young. You both are."

"Why are you so interested in her?" Mark pressed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Briar turned her head and the middle-aged woman gave him a sly, half-smile.

"Uhh…not…really…" Mark stumbled. There were plenty of Leafeon and plenty of human Pokémon in the world. So, why Maple?

"Oh, dear…" Briar shook her head, "that won't do at all…"

"Oh, for the love of…" Quickstep groaned, "Don't toy with him, woman! You said yourself that he's only a kid!"

"Exactly," Briar chuckled, "they're _adorable_!"

Mark took a step back from the Roserade-woman. A few minutes ago he had been furious with these people. Now he was just confused.

"I apologize about Briar," Astral sighed, "suffice to say, she thrives on gossip and drama. And she has found all of you to be very entertaining these past few days."

"Right…" Mark shook his head, "where are your trainers?" He hoped that talking to another human would be easier than talking to their half-crazy human Pokémon.

"Scattered, I regret to say," Astral shrugged, "Only Aurum is with us. PureBlueSky sits alone in his suite. RiverofTears is recapturing her lost youth and innocence with Teardrop. And, my own trainer, EdgeoftheEarth trains on the far side of Mount Dialga."

"Heh, he always was a rather rude, hyperactive boy," Aurum grumbled, "I see that time hasn't taught him anything."

"He wishes to believe that nothing has changed between us," Astral turned to the old man, "call it childish, if you want. However, if nothing else, it shows that he forgives easily."

"Heheh," Quickstep chuckled, "the ever faithful Astral."

"Unlike you," Astral pointed out.

"Look," Mark sighed, "I don't know what's going on between your trainers. But, right now, I don't care very much, either. Now, can any of you help Maple?"

"Yes," Katana stepped forward, "I don't know how much good I'll be, but I'll try."

"You said it can be channeled, right?"

"Partially," Katana admitted, "and, truthfully, I'm not the most adept at it, either."

"Who is?"

"That would be Tempest," Katana shrugged, "but, she's not here."

"Okay, let's go find her," Mark suggested.

"Uh…you don't understand," Katana held up her hand, "she's not even on the island. We…have no idea where she is."

"…What?" Mark asked, flatly.

"She had an argument with PureBlueSky yesterday," Astral stated what the others did not want to admit, "She left the island and I've been unable to find her."

"Does that have anything to do with the Red State?" Mark had to ask.

"Oh, my, no," Astral shook his head, "we've all been worried about Tempest and PureBlueSky for some time. However, it has nothing to do with the Red State. Tempest mastered it long ago."

"But no one else has," Mark drew the next conclusion.

"No one else needed to," Katana stepped back in, "I can teach Maple what I know. It should be enough."

"Alright," Mark nodded, "when do we start?"

* * *

><p>AN: ah…sorry for the long delay on this one. Been a bit busy lately and I had a tough time finding the time to put the finishing touches on this one. It's been 1,000 words short most of the week, actually.<p>

Anyways, this marks the first time that one of each of the Four's human Pokemon were all in the same room together. Epic. Kinda, anyway. They mostly just bicker with each other while their trainer's brood. Good times.

And, is it just me, or were there some sparks flying between Katana and Quickstep this time? I wasn't really going for that, but, hey, stranger things have happened…

Anyway, I'll cya next time!

Thanks for reading!


	99. Lovers

Chapter 97

There were few times in her life where Fate could say that she was really, truly happy. As she strode through the underground base that morning, it was one of those times.

The problem of the Meganium-woman was over with. All it took was one simple, single act and Fate had removed the problem forever. Aroma was just a pretty-faced corpse, slowly growing cold in Palkia's Woods.

Fate felt no remorse for what she had done. There was only the joy of a job well done and the anticipation of telling Cal. He was a ghost again. He could stalk the crowd freely without worry. Fate had given him that freedom. And it had been so easy!

All around her, other agents were battling each other. They all trained for the battle that would begin in just one more day. They fought anywhere and everywhere there was room. Fire and poison and waves of darkness flooded the hallways. Time was growing short, but Farin's army was nearly ready.

Each of the agents fought with the twisted, half-transformed beasts Fate had seen everywhere. She had been human much longer than all of them and had thus escaped her fate as a test subject. If had she evolved only a year or so later than she had, Fate would've been as mindless as the brutes that surrounded her. Or worse, she could've been one of the monsters screaming in the cages in the deepest part of the base.

Yet Fate had no sympathy or pity for the half-turned beasts around her, especially not that day. She was better and stronger than all of them. She wasn't some rabid dog trying to break loose. No, she was already free. Cal was still her master, but she hadn't needed him to deal with Aroma. Fate had done that on her own.

She smiled to herself and pressed her hand against the Gardevoirite concealed within her dress. A Flamethrower shot past her left ear, close enough for a few flecks of orange-red fire to land in her mint-green hair. But she barely flinched. The agents that were fighting began to yell something at her, but she paid no attention to that as well.

Fate needed to find Cal and tell her master about her success.

That task, however, soon became much more difficult than Fate had expected. She dared not use her abilities within the base or the flood of screams from below would be too much to bear. Instead, she had to find Cal the normal, human way.

She started with his office, but found it empty. Not even Tesla or his boy were lingering inside. Next, she tried the officers' sleeping quarters, but that too was empty. She passed by a few more agents as she left the sleeping quarters, but she didn't bother asking about Cal. Whether she was in full control of herself or not, she likely wouldn't receive any help from those agents. They all looked at her the same way. It was the way they looked at all human-Pokémon. To the agents of Team Deus, Pokémon were weapons and a human version was just a more potent version.

She often told herself that Cal wasn't like them. He was better than them. Cal treated her with respect and care.

Fate walked straight past those hopeless agents. They probably only trained those half-turned beasts, anyway. They belonged together, just as Fate and Cal belonged together.

She began walking towards Farin's office, the only place left for her to look. Just a few feet away, she heard Cal's voice drifting towards her. She smiled to herself, eager to tell her master that Aroma's body was lying in Palkia's Woods and she had put it there. She knocked on the door and heard Farin call her in.

The two human men were alone. They had been arguing over something. Fate could tell because Cal's face was slightly pinkish and he was wringing his hands. Farin, however, was calm as always.

"Ah, welcome, my dear," Farin greeted her, "come in, come in. How do you like your present?"

"It's…very generous," Fate told him, "I've…made sure to put it to good use."

At hearing those words, Cal turned right around to face her. His eyes were suspicious and stern. They asked her, "What have you done?"

"Well, I'm glad to hear it," Farin nodded, "you can take your trainer back, by the way. Our discussion has concluded."

"No, Farin," Cal snapped, "we're _not_ done."

"Yes, we are," Farin sighed, "I concede to your plan."

"I…what?" Cal asked, thrown off balance by Farin's unusual attitude.

"I'll send word to have a boat ready," Farin concluded, "it should arrive on the island before nightfall. I'll let you have your contingency plan. Although, I really don't see the need."

"That's why it's a contingency plan," Cal reassured him, "it's only there in case we're wrong." For the first time, Cal was satisfied with the results as he finished talking with Farin.

He led Fate into the hallway where the two could talk.

"Hello, Cal," Fate greeted with a smile.

"What do you want?" Cal asked his human Gardevoir.

"I did it," Fate told him.

"Did what?"

"I killed her," Fate nodded, still smiling, "I killed the Meganium-girl."

"You…what?!" Cal grabbed Fate's arm. The middle of the hallway was not the place for them to talk. He tugged her along and headed towards the only place no one would follow them: the basement.

"Cal, what are you doing?!" Fate yelled in protest, "I don't want to go down there!"

"Shush!" he snapped. He didn't bother explaining himself.

"Cal, stop!" Fate cried, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. She could escape easily enough, but she didn't want to hurt him.

The howls and snarls coming from the basement grew louder as Cal dragged her down the steps. There were dozens of them, just like every other Team Deus base. At first, they were merely stored away in case they could prove useful. As a matter of fact, they did. Fate wasn't the only psychic-type human Pokémon at Team Deus's disposal. And none of them were powerful enough to see through the veil of the tortured screams of these failures. Every single Team Deus base had a veil against psychics, just like Himitsu.

At the bottom of the steps, Cal tossed Fate into the cage-lined room. Fate was strong, but her body was light. She tripped on her dress and she stumbled forward and fell onto the concrete. The Gardevoirite slipped out of her dress and began rolling across the floor. Without thinking, she grasped for it and narrowly missed having her arm bitten into. A human Krookodile, more teeth and claws than anything else, snapped at her through the bars on its cage.

Fate drew back and hastily stuffed the Gardevoirite down her dress once more. She held her palm outward and lit up the basement as she unleashed a Dazzling Gleam at the Krookodile. It let out an angry hiss before falling unconscious.

"Why did you bring me here?" Fate looked up at Cal, her face filled with shock and fear. The basement had gone quiet after she had disciplined the Krookodile, but that wouldn't last long.

"To talk," Cal told her, "no one will be listening down here. Now, tell me again. What did you do?"

"The Meganium-woman," Fate explained, "I killed her." She didn't dare stand up. She had no idea why, but Cal was clearly furious with her.

"Why?"

"Uhh…be-because I thought you'd want that…" Fate hung her head. What had she done wrong?

"Were you seen?"

"No," Fate shook her head, "we were alone. In Palkia's Woods. I led her away from the city."

"How?"

"I…entered her mind," Fate explained, "I could only give her a few suggestions, but…it was enough."

"I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I," she shook her head once more, "but…I needed to…so, I did."

"Alright," Cal's voice seemed to soften. Was he glad that she made sure not to be seen? Or was he only focused on her ability? Fate couldn't tell.

"You killed her in battle?" Cal continued.

"Yes," Fate nodded. She still did not lift her head.

"She resisted?"

"Yes."

"Were you hurt?"

"Not enough to bleed," Fate assured him.

"And how did you kill her?"

"Psychic."

"Was that all?"

"No," Fate admitted, "Dazzling Gleam. I used Dazzling Gleam and three Psychic attacks to kill her."

"Three?"

"She used Light Screen," Fate explained, "She didn't attack me. She…seemed to hope someone would come to save her."

"You should have used one attack," Cal told her, "dozens of human Pokémon can know Dazzling Gleam and Psychic. But hundreds can know Psychic."

"I'm sorry…" Fate apologized. She hadn't realized that mistake. She should have known better. Whoever found Aroma's body would be able to tell what had killed her. Dazzling Gleam and Psychic. She cursed her stupidity.

"And no one saw you leave Palkia's Woods?"

"No."

Cal paused. He seemed to be thinking it over and looking for holes or mistakes that could have been made. Fate had already made one in using two different attacks instead of just one. It was a small, yet valuable mistake.

"It should've been Whisper," Cal sighed.

"Master?"

"Whisper, the human Zoroark," Cal reminded her, "He should've killed her. He could've taken the fall and been counted as a loose maniac. Now…they'll almost certainly know it was us."

"But…" Fate had no idea how to answer that.

"That was stupid, Fate," he told her, "stupid and reckless."

Fate felt her heart twist. She hadn't been helping. Sweet Arceus, she was a blind, pathetic woman…

"I'm…I'm so sorry," Fate dropped to her hands and knees before Cal, "I didn't know…" she whimpered on the cold floor, in front of him.

"Never mind that," Cal sighed, "stand up."

"Master?" Fate raised her head, but did not stand.

"It's over," Cal shrugged, "there's nothing else we can do. And I need you."

"You…need me?" Fate stood up, her eyes wide.

"Farin wants to split into groups, for the attack," Cal explained, "I'll need you to keep an eye on his position while I lead the second."

"Oh…of course," Fate agreed.

"Alright," Cal turned and began walking towards the stairs, "come on, then. Let's get out of here before they start trying to rip their cages apart, again."

Fate nodded and followed after her master. She had hoped for congratulations and praise, but she hadn't realized that she made a mistake. A lesser master would have discarded her for such an error. But not Cal. Cal was a good master who cared about her. And he needed her.

He was a strong, good master and she would continue to support him. He might not praise her or whisper her name in his last moments, but for Fate, it was enough to simply stay by his side.

* * *

><p>Silver paced back and forth as he watched the street for Aroma. Half an hour had passed since the nurses had told him and Shinobi that they were okay to go. Half an hour and there was still no sign of her.<p>

"Could she have gone to the hotel?" Lily suggested. She was sitting on her knees, looking over the back of one of the lobby chairs. Even Shinobi watched for their missing team member.

"She knew we would be here," Silver reminded her.

"Yeah, but…maybe she changed her mind," Lily hoped she was right, but had a terrible feeling that she wasn't. She should've left her cell phone with Aroma.

"Something's wrong," Silver shook his head, but he was willing to try anything, "Shinobi? How fast can you get to the hotel and back?"

"Minutes," the human Ninjask answered.

"Go, then," Silver tilted his head towards the hotel. With a blink of an eye, Shinobi was at the door to the Pokémon Center. In another half a second, Shinobi became a blur as he raced down the street.

"She's fine," Silver said more to comfort himself than Lily, "it's broad daylight and she was surrounded by people. She's fine. She's just…late."

"Could she have gotten lost?" Lily asked, grasping at straws.

"Maybe…" Silver shrugged, willing to believe anything.

They watched the windows in silence. No one that resembled a human Meganium passed by.

Silver put his hand on the glass and started drumming. Half an hour. It was too long. There was nowhere else for her to go. There were no stops she needed to make and no point in returning to the hotel without them. So where was she? He prayed that he was wrong and in another ten minutes, Aroma would come around the corner, escorted by Shinobi.

But Shinobi came around the corner alone, after another two minutes.

Lily and Silver both left the Pokémon Center to meet Shinobi outside.

"Was she there?" Lily asked, still hopeful.

Shinobi shook his head.

"Get in the air," Silver commanded him, "search the island. We'll be here."

"At once," Shinobi nodded and was gone, zipping along the rooftops as he searched up and down every single street.

"You don't think she was…" Lily didn't want to finish her sentence.

"She's fine," Silver repeated, "broad daylight. And she's smart. She wouldn't let anything like that happen to her again."

"Then where…?"

"I don't know…" Silver admitted. He waited with his trainer, in silence. He dreaded the answer from Shinobi. The minutes ticked by much too slowly.

What if Team Deus really had kidnapped her again? If that were true, then it was probably a trap, just like before. But why go after Aroma a second time? Farin had let them go before, Silver was sure of it. None of them had been a real target, but instead they were practice or bait or Arceus knew what.

Silver couldn't guess what psychos like that could be thinking, but if they had hurt Aroma, he would make them pay.

"Silver…" Lily called him. She never used his nickname anymore.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We'll find her…right?"

"Of course," Silver turned to his trainer, "Shinobi will be back with her any minute."

"Right…" Lily nodded, but she didn't seem to believe him, "I just…I said some really, really terrible things last night."

"…We all did," Silver told her. Plenty of those terrible things were echoing through his head. He pushed them back as much as he could, but they were still there. Did Aroma know he still loved her? Sweet Arceus, _where was Shinobi_?!

"I'm sure she'd forgive you," Silver tried to reassure Lily. He could do that, for now. But who would reassure him? How long could he last without Aroma next to him?

"You think so?"

"Yeah," Silver nodded, "yeah, I do." Aroma would never hold a grudge. It wasn't in her. What she wanted, more than anything, was for them all to get along and be happy. He told himself this over and over. Yet he still knew that Aroma hadn't fallen asleep in his arms. She hadn't banished him to the lobby, like she had threatened, but they had slept on opposite sides of the bed, with as much space between them as possible. They fell asleep hating each other. He'd never forgive himself for that.

Shinobi came back after another hour had passed. There was no Meganium-woman with him.

"What do we do now?" Lily asked. She was shaking.

"The woods," Silver turned. It was the only idea he had left. The only place she could wander into and be lost. He prayed to Arceus he was right.

"We'll check the woods."

* * *

><p>By the time Silver, Lily and Shinobi began their search; Aroma had been missing for nearly two and a half hours. None of them wanted to voice their chances of finding her.<p>

Each of them had been inside Palkia's Woods before, but never together. Silver had been inside the most, but even he didn't understand how Palkia's Woods really worked. Every time he went inside, he saw a different section of the forest. He only wanted to be alone with Aroma and that's what happened. He could only wish that his desire to be by her side again would make it so.

Silver took the first steps into the trees. Lily and Shinobi followed close behind, watching everywhere for signs of movement.

"Stay close," Silver told them, "don't get lost while we're trying to find somebody."

He led the way, trying his best to keep a straight path. Just like before, everything seemed the same for the first few minutes, but began to drastically change. He was in a new section again, different from any other. Aipom jeered and hissed at them from overhead. A few tossed nuts and berries at them, but most kept their distance.

Silver vaguely wondered what had them so riled up.

He pressed forward, occasionally checking to make sure that Lily and Shinobi were still behind him. It was impossible to tell if he was making any progress. He could've sworn he had passed the same set of trees four times.

_Where is she?_ He asked Palkia's Woods, _I just want to find Aroma. She has to be here. She has to. _

At last, the scenery began to change again. The local Spinarak began to outnumber the Aipom and the trees grew sparse. He spotted a small clearing, ahead of him.

The woods were quiet as he came closer. No wild Pokémon hissed at him as he walked through the trees.

There was something in the grass. He couldn't quite make it out yet, but it looked pretty big. It was a lighter shade of green than the surrounding grass. It was…a pale-green. Just like Aroma's dress and hair.

He started to run. Lily and Shinobi were close behind.

Silver rushed into the clearing.

And there she was: asleep on the grass. It was the perfect picture. The sweet, grass-type Aroma was gently sleeping on the soft grass, basking in the sun. No wonder she had fallen asleep here: it was perfect. The sun was warm and comforting without feeling too hot. Aroma seemed to melt into the earth around her. The flowers adorning her neckline and the pale-green on her dress blended into the ground so well, she might disappear if Silver looked at her from the right angle.

He exhaled a deep sigh of relief and smiled. He bent down next to his lover and nudged her.

"C'mon, sleepyhead, we've been worried about you," Silver urged her, "c'mon, up and at 'em, we're all starving." Aroma didn't respond, but kept sleeping away, peacefully.

"Si-Silver…" Lily sniffed.

Silver turned back to his trainer. She was crying. Why would she do that? Aroma was right in front of them. And she was safe.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"S-she's…not…" Lily shut her eyes, "she's not…br-breathing…" She sank to her knees and sobbed.

Silver turned back to Aroma. She was fine. She was just…

The image shattered when he looked at her next.

Aroma hadn't been dead for long, but her lips were starting to turn blue and her pale skin was almost as white as Silver's jacket. Blood must have been coming out of her nose, but now her upper lip and most of her cheek were caked with layers of the stuff. Most of it was dry, but some was still wet. And yes, just like Lily said, she wasn't breathing.

Silver screamed.

* * *

><p>AN: Silver can be kind of a jerk, but it's tough to hate him when stuff like this keeps happening to him…<p>

Nothing else of import to report right now…nothing I can think of, anyway.

Oh, well…I leave you with this depressing moment.

See you next time and thanks for reading!


	100. The Mind of a Mind-Reader

Chapter 98

Frustration, disappointment, and a deep sadness. Those were the primary feelings that Astral found whenever he looked into the Leafeon-girl's mind. She was calm on the surface, but the layer underneath was filled with torment. Deeper still, there was a gentle, energetic soul that was the true Maple. However, the transition into human life was being especially difficult for the young girl. It was also difficult for Astral to see what could be done to help her.

The human-Bronzong had decided to stay with Aurum and the boy, Mark, for the time being. Briar had returned to the flower meadow to relay recent events to Cashmere and Pixie. She would want details as the day unfolded, of course, but Astral felt the need to stay close by. Briar's love of gossip had the tendency to annoy the other human Pokémon—particularly Quickstep—but Astral was very patient, if nothing else.

Quickstep and Flurry had also parted ways with the others. Flurry took Ian and insisted on seeing her trainer while Quickstep scoffed at the idea and disappeared somewhere, alone. Astral inquired after PureBlueSky by his own methods, but the champion's mind was a whirlwind of emotion; flitting from one idea to the next like a mad man. In some ways, he was more distraught than the Leafeon-girl.

For both cases, Astral felt helpless. He had to remind himself that it was not his place to intervene in personal matters. Others, somewhere in the world, were suffering far worse than Maple and PureBlueSky. What could he do for them? Regardless, he wanted to do something. But no matter how long he thought over the matter, nothing stood out. There was no truth he could tell them that could ease their pain. None that he believed in.

It gave Astral much more joy when he looked into the minds of the children in front of him. While Katana and Maple practiced meditative exercises, Cherry and Billow battled ferociously as they trained together. Even as they yelled and fought each other, the girls' thoughts were ones of joy and release. They could be playing tag or football instead of shedding each other's blood.

The similarities and differences between the two girls also greatly amused the human Bronzong. Billow was a few years older than Cherry; over a century older if one included her time as a Drifblim. Yet, the two exhibited roughly the same maturity level. Whether one was advanced or one was lagging behind, Astral could not say for sure. Psychology was not a practice he had much experience with. He did not spend his days expanding his knowledge of the human world, as Farsight did.

Still, in a world such as this one, where so many spent most of their lives in pain, it gave him comfort to know that joy and innocence could still-

"Dammit!" Cherry cursed, as she finished drinking another potion, "I almost had you that time!"

"Almost doesn't count!" Billow teased as she spun and danced where she hovered, a foot and a half off of the ground.

Astral shrugged. He was still convinced of their innocence. It was just difficult to see from time to time. Even for a mind-reader.

* * *

><p>Almost at the tree-line, Maple and Katana sat apart from the others. The only techniques that Katana knew to teach Maple were a few meditative poses and practices. Unfortunately, her pupil seemed to have difficulty sitting still.<p>

"Relax…" Katana instructed, "Breathe deep…"

Maple fidgeted. She was sitting on her leg the wrong way. It was odd the way that she could feel all feeling seep out of it. She needed to move.

The two sat cross-legged, but Maple must have been doing it wrong. She had never sat that way before and Katana hadn't shown her how. Maybe she was leaning too far in one direction. She couldn't tell, but she couldn't feel her right foot either.

On the other hand, maybe it was supposed to feel that way. If that was true, it didn't make much sense to her. The pose wasn't relaxing just…weird.

She knew why she was supposed to be doing this. Katana had already explained that feelings of anger, frustration or jealousy made the Red State stronger and more difficult to control. If left unchecked, Maple might not be able to control it at all. Once that happened, using it would be too dangerous. She might have to stop battling altogether.

So, Maple needed to learn how to relax and relieve stress so that she could keep battling.

But that sounded backwards. Battling was how Maple relieved stress. She loved it. Maybe that was why it was so dangerous. Just like the Red State it made her feel strong and alive. Was that such a terrible way to feel?

"Relax…" Katana said again, "breathe de-"

"OW!" Cherry yelled "GET BACK HERE!"

That was another problem Maple was having. She was supposed to breathe deep and relax, but with Cherry and Billow training so close by, she wasn't sure how. Aurum made it look easy, as he fished without ever looking up. Maybe he was asleep…it was hard to tell with his big, straw hat shadowing his face. Maple wished she could be that relaxed. Instead she was always afraid that sooner or later a stray Flamethrower would come a little too close.

"Keep it down, you two!" Katana yelled as she ceased her own meditations.

"We can't!" Billow, the small Drifblim-girl shot back, "We're battling! Practice your Zen-whatever somewhere else!"

"This is more important!"

"Says you!"

"Uh, w-we can move…" Maple said, meekly, "I don't mind…" It might help her foot feel better.

Now that she could open her eyes, she glanced towards Mark. He stood nearby Cherry, instructing her while she battled the much stronger Drifblim-girl. Without Maple to stand in as a sparring partner, he had to stay with Cherry while the Charmeleon-girl trained. Even still, Cherry was a poor match against Billow and she lost often. It was difficult to tell if she was making any progress.

Maple also doubted that she was making any progress. She and Katana had been meditating for almost a whole hour. If she was supposed to feel any different, then it wasn't working.

She wanted Mark to stay with her. She knew that there was nothing he could do to help, but it would still be nice just to have him sit with her. It had been nice when he stood up for her and comforted her after…well, after Lily…after _Silver_…

"Ugh…" Katana groaned, "Alright...let's try taking a walk." In a quick, smooth motion the young Weavile-woman stood up.

Maple, however, was nowhere near as graceful. She brought her left leg up easily enough, but the right felt odd and clumsy. When she put her foot on the ground and stood up, the sensation was dulled. Her leg was stiff, as well, refusing to bend and flex the way it was supposed to. As a result, she stumbled and nearly fell over, but Katana gripped her shoulder to steady her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"My foot feels weird…" Maple admitted as she looked down at it and tried wiggling it a bit. Soothing warmth began to flow into it. Soon afterward, the warmth was replaced by a bizarre prickling sensation. It was almost as if twenty people were poking her with toothpicks as fast as they could. It hurt, but not much.

"Your foot fell asleep?" Katana stared at Maple, incredulous.

"Uh…" Maple didn't know how to answer, "Maybe?"

"You were sitting on it the wrong way," Katana explained, "It happens when you cut off the circulation of blood to a part of your body."

"Oh…I see," Maple nodded.

Katana sighed. "How long have you been human again?"

"Uh…" Maple counted, "three weeks…I think."

"Three weeks, huh?" Katana mused. She thought back to her own time as a human. What a long, strange month it had been…

Then, Katana thought of something. She looked at Maple, then over towards her, male, sixteen-year-old trainer, then back to Maple.

"What is it?" Maple asked.

"Never mind," Katana shook her head, "let's get going."

"Okay," Maple agreed. Her foot still prickled a bit, but at least she could walk normally.

* * *

><p>Mark watched as Maple and Katana left the clearing and vanished into Palkia's Woods. He knew that there was little that he could for her. According to Katana, Maple was under a lot of stress and needed to relax. It made sense. With everything that was happening with Team Deus, training for the tournament and adjusting to human life; who wouldn't be stressed?<p>

Maple had been very quiet these past few days, as well. Was that a sign that something was wrong? He wished that she would talk to him about it.

At any rate, it wasn't her fault that this was happening to her. Katana and Aurum had taught her the Red State without knowing much about it. If they knew this could happen, why didn't they teach Maple how to control it before? How could Mark trust them if they held back information that important?

He took a deep breath to clear his thoughts. His own relaxation technique, he realized.

He should be focusing on training Cherry. Charmeleon or not, she still had a lot of catching up to do. She needed his support if she wanted to stand a chance against Billow. He couldn't help Maple, so he needed to focus on what he could do.

"Flamethrower!" he commanded. Cherry obeyed instantly, shooting her stream of orange-red flame directly at Billow.

However, frail as she might look, Billow was strong and could easily take three of Cherry's Flamethrowers. And her Shadow Ball hit back twice as hard. Aurum's training methods were often cruel, but Mark had to admit that it prepared both trainer and human Pokémon for the worst.

"Try not to judge us too harshly," a calm voice came from behind Mark. He turned to see the human Bronzong standing there. It was difficult to read any sort of emotion on his stoic face.

"Katana and Aurum did what they thought was best," Astral went on, "please understand that."

"Trying to," Mark muttered as he turned back to the battle, "Again, Flamethrower!"

Cherry prepared her next attack, but Billow was much quicker. The Drifblim-girl fired the ball of concentrated darkness long before Cherry could finish. The attack hit the already injured Charmeleon-girl in her forehead. The blow knocked her off of her feet and she fell unconscious before she hit the ground.

Mark was at her side in a moment with a Revive in hand. Aurum had offered to restock his supply of medicines. It would still be a long time before Mark would finish training under Aurum's instruction.

Astral sighed. Mark was more agitated than he had realized. Part of him wanted to reveal the secret behind Maple's worsening condition; the true source of her torment. But he would leave that matter between the boy and the Leafeon-girl.

Instead, he wondered what else he could do to earn Mark's trust back. Was there something that he was missing? Was there some idea that hadn't occurred to him?

"Oww…" Cherry groaned as she sat up. She coughed a few times as she finished swallowing the bitter medicine.

"Let's take a break," Mark told her, "it's almost time for lunch, anyway."

"Okay," Cherry agreed, rather relieved to get the chance to stop being knocked back and forth constantly. Maple was one thing, but Cherry had a type advantage against her Leaf Blade. Billow, on the other hand, hit at full force with every attack. She'd rather be fighting Nails again.

"How about you go find Maple?" Mark suggested.

"Alright…" she looked around, "where'd she go?"

"Palkia's Woods," Mark gestured, "you'll find her, trust me."

"Okay," Cherry rose to her feet and began running towards Palkia's Woods. When she was gone, Mark turned back to the human Bronzong.

"So…Maple mentioned before that you can read minds," Mark began, "Is that true?"

"It is," Astral nodded, "Quickstep refers to me as the 'Eyes and Ears of the Four' from time to time."

"Then, can I ask you a few questions?"

"Very well." Inwardly, Astral smiled. Of course! How could he have missed it? This boy was naturally inquisitive, constantly seeking answers. Astral could share what he knew. So long as Mark believed what Astral told him, it could help undo the mistrust the boy had.

"Team Deus," Mark began with the most immediate issue, "what do you know about them?"

"Little, I'm afraid," Astral shrugged, "Human Pokémon still exist mostly in rumor. For there to be a criminal syndicate kidnapping and experimenting on them seemed impossible. We first learned of them several years ago. My own trainer, EdgeoftheEarth, decided to do a bit of investigating. However, I'm sorry to say, we reached a dead end. They're very careful. They have excellent resources and are very skilled. They never do anything too openly or attract attention to themselves."

"Any idea who leads them?" Mark asked.

"No," Astral shook his head, "a few suspects were considered, Alfred Silph included, but all were innocent. As I said, they're very careful and possess their own countermeasures against human Pokémon, like myself. You, on the other hand, have been inside one of their bases of operation. In all truth, you may know more than I do."

"Farin," Mark told Astral, "their fourth in command is named Farin. Does it mean anything to you?"

"I'm afraid it doesn't," Astral shrugged, once more.

"But wait a second," Mark held up a hand, "if you know that we were inside their base on the island, why aren't you doing anything about it? Why not attack them? You're all strong enough."

But Astral shook his head. "You may not be aware of this, but there is a…barrier that prevents me from seeing inside their base. As I said, they're careful, skilled, and resourceful. To attack them without knowing more would be reckless. Lives could be lost in such an attempt."

Mark had to agree with Astral there. His own infiltration with Kim, Eric and Lily had been exactly the kind of reckless act that Astral wanted to prevent. They were lucky to get out alive.

"Is there anything else I can answer for you?" Astral offered.

"Yes," Mark agreed, "one more thing has been bothering me. There's…a Pokémon in the woods…"

"Suicune," Astral nodded, "yes, I'm aware of it."

"Then…"

"No," Astral shook his head again, "I have tried. However Suicune seems to have its own defenses. Dark and psychic human Pokémon are also immune. I do not know why it is here, or what it wants."

"It…spoke to me, earlier," Mark started, "well, first me and later Maple. It called human Pokémon the 'Children of Jirachi.' What does that mean?"

"Any number of things," Astral explained, "legends of the first human Pokémon abound, but each one is slightly different. Which one is the truth, or if any of them are true may not even matter."

"But it _was_ Jirachi," Mark insisted, "Jirachi…made it possible."

"You're free to believe whatever you like," Astral shrugged, "but I can't tell you for certain what the truth is."

"Alright…" Mark sighed.

"If you want to ask Suicune directly," Astral offered, "I could tell you where to find it, but it will likely run from you. Or it may simply refuse to answer your questions."

"No…that's alright," Mark hung his head. He had hoped for better when he decided to talk to Astral. Apparently, not even a mind-reader could help him.

"I'm sorry I could not be of more help…" Astral apologized.

"It's alright," Mark told him, "thanks for being honest with me."

"Of course," Astral nodded. Though he wondered how much of the truth the boy really could handle.

* * *

><p>AN: yeeeesh…a thousand apologies for the excessive delay on this one.<p>

I'm not sure why, but I had a tough time really getting going with it. I must have stopped and re-started about five or six times. I wouldn't call it writer's block, but I was short on motivation with this one. Probably because I know what's coming up in the next few chapters and this one's…kinda boring. Not my best, but…oh, well…

Btw, I've also had a few job interviews lately. So, not sure how much longer I'll be able to post in the middle of the week. I'll let you know what happens.

Anyway, cya next time and thanks for reading!


	101. Lockdown

Chapter 99

Katana led the way through Palkia's Woods, with Maple close behind. She didn't focus on where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do, so the Woods would probably just send them around in a circle. That was fine with Katana. It was more important to walk than to get somewhere.

The local Aipom did their usual screeching and acorn-tossing as the two human Pokémon passed. Almost absent-mindedly, Katana tossed Ice Shards at a few of them. They scattered soon afterward, but more would take their place. If Palkia's Woods really was sending them in circles, then they would be gone soon enough. Still, the small Pokémon were annoying at best.

"Do they always do that?" Maple asked, in a small voice.

"Pretty much," Katana chuckled, "they never learn, either." Her next Ice Shard hit one directly in the forehead. It fell off the branch it was sitting on and tumbled end over end to the forest floor below.

Katana turned to smirk at Maple, but stopped when she saw the expression on the Leafeon-girl's face. Her eyes were downcast and her ears drooped forward.

"We're not supposed to be like this…are we?" she asked. She looked at Katana with desperation, even panic.

"What?" Katana asked, "What are you talking about?" She must have missed something.

"Human!" Maple cried, "We're not supposed to be human!" She sank to her knees, fighting back tears. Everything was falling apart. Mark didn't love her and she couldn't even battle. What was the point?

_Dammit_, Katana thought. She had never been good at this, but she would have to try.

"It's alright," she walked back towards the Leafeon-girl and knelt down with her, "come on, it's not that bad." She put a hand on Maple's shoulder. That was supposed to help, but she didn't know why.

She regretted doing so a moment later when Maple flung herself at Katana's chest and hugged her tightly. She cried openly into Katana's shirt. Mostly, this just confused the young Weavile-woman. She hardly felt like a mother-figure and the Leafeon-girl was probably better endowed than she was. It struck her that it might be more comforting for Maple if Katana swapped herself out for that Vaporeon-girl that Quickstep had been leering at.

"It's alright," she said again. She had never felt so awkward in all her life. _Maybe she just needs to let it out or…something_, she hoped.

After the longest minute of Katana's life, Maple finally released her and sat back up.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Maple apologized as she wiped at her eyes, "I didn't mean to…"

"It's alright," Katana shook her head, merely relieved that it was over, "not _all_ of them do that," she gestured towards the trees, "most of them, but not all."

"But…why?" Maple asked.

"I have no idea," Katana shrugged, "I didn't grow up in the wild. I'm guessing you didn't either."

Maple shook her head.

"Mm…" Katana nodded, "yeah, I don't know why they do it. They're probably just afraid of us."

"Why?" Maple asked again.

"I don't know," Katana stood up and brushed off her knees, "don't let it bother you."

"But…"

"I wouldn't worry about what you're _supposed_ to be," Katana sighed, "that sounds like you're trying to be something you're not. If you're _supposed_ to be a Leafeon, then why are you a girl?"

"Umm…" Maple didn't have an answer. A few weeks ago, she would've said Mark was the reason. But now…

"Look," Katana started, "we all know what's wrong. And we want to help, but the two of you can't keep avoiding each other. You're afraid of another fight, sure. Doesn't really make any sense to me, but what do I know? Katana, the 'Frigid-Bitch,' never even had a date! But look at what you're doing to yourself!"

"What?" Maple asked. She only understood about half of that.

"Dammit…" Katana took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead, "my point is: teaching you to meditate and taking you into the woods to cry aren't fixing the real problem."

"Then…what do I do?" Maple asked, finally getting to her feet.

"You _know_ what you need to do," Katana told her.

Maple nodded. Some of the fear and uncertainty left her eyes.

"Maaaaple! Katanaaaaa! Where are you?!" a voice echoed through the woods, coming towards them, "Come ooooon! _I'm hungry_!"

"That's Cherry…" Maple turned towards the Charmeleon-girl's voice. "Well…uh…" she turned back to Katana.

"Go," Katana waved her away, "I'll be here, when you need me."

Maple stepped forward and hugged Katana again, this time without tears.

"Thank you," she told her mentor.

"Anytime," Katana sighed and hugged the girl back.

The two parted a moment later and Maple headed in the direction of Cherry's voice.

Katana watched Maple go, hoping that she didn't just make a very big mistake.

* * *

><p>"Did talking to Katana help?" Mark asked Maple as they neared the edge of Palkia's Woods.<p>

"Uh…yeah," Maple answered. Though she was unsure if that was the truth, or not. Katana made it sound easy and natural, but…was it really the right thing to do? What if Katana was wrong?

"Good," Mark nodded, "glad to hear it. We'll need to keep training, after all. There's only another three days before the next match." He would have to check the schedule to see who they would be up against. He only hoped to win one more match. The semi-final would be against either Aurum or RiverofTears. There was no way a Leafeon and Charmeleon would stand a chance. Especially when he remembered that Aurum had been training them for a week.

"Oh, right," Maple nodded. She kept her head down and began to lag behind Mark and Cherry as they approached the city. If she listened to Katana, that meant she had to confront Mark. It would mean another fight, a fight with words and hurt feelings. She hated them so much more than battling…

"What the…?" Mark asked when they were almost to the city.

Maple looked up to see something very strange.

All around the edge of city, along the streets and sidewalk that separated wilderness and concrete, there were men setting up barricades. There was at least half a dozen of them, one every ten or fifteen feet. From the pattern on their clothes, Maple recognized them as Silph Co. employees. Normally, they would be stationed in the stadium or the street. They helped people find where they were supposed to be going, but…what were they doing now?

Her eyes widened when she saw that they were wearing body armor and carrying rather large guns.

"HALT!" one of the guards yelled. He raised his gun and pointed it straight at Mark. Several other guards turned to see what was happening. Two more aimed their guns at Maple and Cherry.

Immediately, the three froze. Mark put up his hands and motioned for Cherry and Maple to do the same. Whatever was happening, he knew it was best to let these men do their job.

"State your names!"

"My name is Mark Diamond!" Mark called out, trying to keep his voice calm, "these two are my human Pokémon: Maple and Cherry!"

"What were you doing outside of the city?!"

"Training!" Mark answered, "Training in Palkia's Woods!" Mark could feel his heart racing. Why were they worried about people going in and out of the city? If these were Silph employees, why were there so many? And, most importantly, why did they carry guns like that? They weren't pistols, they were rifles. _Automatic_ rifles, like a soldier might use.

One of the guards lowered his weapon and motioned to one of the others. Mark guessed that it was his commander. They were still too far away for him to make out what the guard was saying, but Maple could hear a few words. They were talking about what kind of human Pokémon Cherry and Maple were and what attacks they knew. They came to the conclusion that neither Charmeleon nor Leafeon could learn Psychic or Dazzling Gleam.

"Stand down!" the commander told the others. The other guards lowered their guns and Mark breathed an immense sigh of relief as he lowered his hands. Still, he didn't move from where he stood

"You're free to enter the city," the commander instructed them, "you have our deepest apologies."

"What the hell is this?" Cherry asked.

"Shh," Mark shushed her. Whatever was going on, they had just been cleared. He might be able to get some information out of them if he was careful. The guards' mistake of falsely-accusing them was something he could use for leverage, if needed.

Mark led his two Pokémon-girls closer. He looked all around, checking for signs and listening for snippets of conversation. Still, he waited until all three of them were safely beyond the barricades before he said or did anything. The commander was waiting for him, hand outstretched.

"Let me apologize, once more," he said as he pumped Mark's hand, "my name is Patrick Davis. I'm head of security, underneath Alfred Silph himself."

"Don't you usually wear orange stripes instead of body armor?" Mark asked, trying to be as casual as possible. Inside, he was a nervous wreck. No one had ever pointed a gun at him in his life; and certainly not one as big as Davis was carrying.

"Heheh," Davis chuckled, "normally, yes." He did not elaborate, which meant Mark would have to ask him directly. "If you don't mind," he went on, "would you mind signing your name in our ledger?"

"Why?" Mark asked, "What's going on?" He looked around at the security guards turned into soldiers. What could they possibly need it all for?

Davis looked around at his men. Instead of answering, he handed Mark a form and a ballpoint pen.

"Sign the ledger first," Davis insisted.

Mark did as instructed.

"They're with me," Mark gestured to Cherry and Maple before giving the form back.

"They should sign, as well," Davis pressed.

"They can't," Mark almost snapped at him, "they can't read or write." He stared coldly at Davis for a few tense seconds. Mark wasn't going to make Cherry and Maple sign anything until he knew why.

"Sir, they really don't have to," the guard/soldier that had spoken up for them before told Davis, "they didn't do it."

"Do what?" Cherry spoke up.

"Quiet down, now. Grown-ups are talking, little missy," Davis sneered down at Cherry.

"Hey!" Cherry snapped back.

"Cherry, please," Mark put up a hand to keep his Charmeleon-girl calm, then turned to Davis, "it would be much easier for us to co-operate if you told us what's happening."

"Fair enough," Davis nodded, "there's been a murder."

"A murder?" Mark looked around in disbelief, "not to sound heartless, or anything, but…all of this for a murder?" It looked more like there had been a bombing.

"It was a human Pokémon murder," Davis explained, "one human Pokémon killed another. Not an ordinary murder."

"A human Pokémon…murder?" Maple gasped at the thought.

"Yes," Davis nodded, "now, if you don't mind, we'd really appreciate it if you could co-operate."

"Alright," Mark agreed.

"Boss, they really shouldn't have to sign," the second guard/soldier spoke up, again, "if we just register the trainers and check their human Pokémon that should be enough."

"_Should be_, Seth?" Davis questioned the suggestion.

"_Will be_, sir," Seth corrected, "human Pokémon don't live apart from their trainers. They can't really take care of themselves." It was only half of the truth, but clearly Seth had more experience with human Pokémon than his boss did.

"Alright," Davis conceded, "it'll make it easier to sort through names, if nothing else." He turned back to Mark. "You have any others?"

"All unevolved," Mark told him, "the Pokéballs are in my hotel room."

"Alright," Davis nodded, "you're free to go, then."

Mark eagerly led Maple and Cherry away from the security guards. So there had been a human Pokémon murder. Did that really explain it? Regular humans would be sorely outmatched in a fight against a human Pokémon. Perhaps if they really wanted to avoid loss of life or even avoid a fight entirely, then they needed that sort of equipment. Anything less would give their enemy a weakness to exploit.

But what were the barricades for? Did they intend to quarantine the whole city until they found who was responsible? And why register all of the trainers and their human Pokémon? Did they have some method for figuring it out?

"Hey!" they were about a block away from the barricades when Mark heard that guard, Seth, call out to him.

The young man was somewhere in his mid-twenties. His face was plain, but he was tall and broad-shouldered. He was built like a guard…like a soldier, too.

"Hey, sorry about that," he thumbed behind him, "the boss isn't all that great at being nice to people. He thinks everybody's an asshole trying to cause trouble."

"You don't say," Mark rolled his eyes, "not you, though?"

"Nah," Seth shook his head, "plus, I've got my own human Pokémon. She's an Azumarill named Bubble, cute as a button, too."

"Aww…" Maple cooed.

"Why isn't she helping you?" Mark asked, "If you're trying to track down a human Pokémon murderer, then shouldn't you have your own?"

"Nuh-uh," Seth shook his head again, "she's not a fighter. I'm a little worried about her, though. She usually stays in town until I get off work. Personally, I'm not looking forward to using this…monster," he looked at the rifle in his hands, "but I will to keep her safe."

"Is that…necessary?" Mark had to ask. Some humans hunted certain kinds of Pokémon for sport without Pokéballs. The practice was mostly frowned upon because Pokémon battles were far more humane. However, even in those instances, anything more than a bolt-action firearm was usually overkill.

"Believe it or not, I think it is," Seth nodded, "I've never done it, but I've heard it can take ten…fifteen hits to bring down a human Pokémon. And that's while they're fighting back with attacks that could kill you on the spot."

"_Fifteen?!_" Mark gaped. There was no way that could be true. It was outrageous. And with so few human Pokémon in the world, where could a statistic like that even come from?

Seth shrugged. "That's what they told us in training. And I sure as hell am not taking chances when it's a psychic type."

"Psychic?" Mark asked.

"Oh, yeah," Seth nodded, "you guys seem pretty trustworthy, and I want this over with, so let me tell you what I know. About an hour ago, the boss got a report that somebody brought a dead Pokémon-girl into the Pokémon Center, screaming for help. One of the doctors examined the body and could tell that whoever attacked the poor girl had used a combination of Dazzling Gleam and Psychic to kill her."

"Dazzling Gleam and Psychic," Mark repeated. Psychic and fairy attacks.

"Yeah," Seth went on, "that's when the boss decided to kick into high gear. He got permission from Silph to lockdown the city and start questioning people. If you ask me, he probably just wanted to get his hands on all the weapons we never use. Make himself feel like a badass."

"So that's what this is about…" Mark mused.

"Yep," Seth nodded, "once we've checked everybody, it'll get lifted. Shouldn't take more than a day or two. Until then, nobody goes in or out without us knowing."

"I see…" Mark nodded. That was certainly going to make training in Palkia's Woods more difficult. Not to mention, Aurum and half of all of the Four's human Pokémon were still outside of this lockdown. He could just imagine how much of a hassle the grumpy old man would be for Davis. He had to suppress a smirk at the thought.

"So, anything you can tell us that might help would be appreciated," Seth nodded. He turned to leave, as though he expected no answer and saying so was just another way of saying "goodbye."

Mark watched him turn away and thought about Team Deus. Silver had scoffed at Silph's security force, but apparently no one had any idea they were trained as soldiers, as well. But how many of them were there? Two, maybe three dozen? That many men with automatic rifles could certainly be a force to be reckoned with. But what would happen if they were put up against Team Deus?

Mark didn't want to think about that. That sounded like war, not a Pokémon battle.

"Hey, Seth!" Mark called out and the young man turned back, "who was it? That got attacked, I mean."

"Don't remember her name," Seth shook his head, "but, like I said, it was a girl. She was part Meganium. Guy that brought her in was an Absol. I think his name was Silver."

* * *

><p>AN: that's more like it. one sitting, maybe with a few breaks here and there. That's how I roll.<p>

Anyway, I got to talk about guns and hunting in the Pokemon world, a bit. that's a fun topic. I realized some time ago that if Pokemon battles are non-lethal, then pulling out a gun and shooting a Pokemon is actually far less humane. Weird, but true. At least, that's how I see it.

What do you guys think? I'd love to hear a few counter-arguments to the typical "Pokemon is basically dog-fighting" thing. The fact that battles are non-lethal and don't have lasting consequences (unless somebody adds it in fanfic) is a huge plus. Hell, most real-life sports are _more_ dangerous.

Generally, I view Pokemon as a healthy mix between boxing and horse-racing. Horse-racing in particular has some wonderful parallels. From time to time, I've kicked around the idea of doing a realistic Pokemon story (regular Pokemon) where there's an industry set up closer to real-life horse racing. And the job of "Pokemon trainer" gets split between several different people. Breeder, trainer, owner, and a battler, like horse-racing with a battler instead of a jockey.

But I digress…

Anyways, I'll cya next time!

Thanks for reading!


	102. Resolve

Chapter 100

PureBlueSky leaned against the wall of his suite while the human Machamp brought in his new end table. He towered over Sky, somewhere between six-and-a-half and seven feet tall. He was dressed simply in blue jeans and a sleeveless shirt to let all four of his arms move freely. Ordinarily, it must have been a two-man job, but those two extra arms and his inhuman strength made the Machamp-man invaluable.

The original table, that Tempest had put her fist through, was long gone. It had already been cleaned up and thrown out the previous night. Not a single splinter remained in the carpet.

"That look alright to you?" the human Machamp asked as he positioned the table.

"It's fine," Sky answered, disinterested. He honestly couldn't say for certain where the last table had sat.

"Alright," the Machamp-man nodded, unconvinced by Sky's answer, "I'll let you put it however you want."

"We'll just need you to sign this," a human man in his forties, and the Machamp's only partner, handed Sky a clipboard with a form attached. He signed it with his real name before handing it back

"Alright," the man nodded as he tucked the clipboard away, "and as a reminder, the damages for both this and the sliding door will show up on your hotel bill. But it's going to take a few days to replace the door."

"I understand," Sky nodded. He looked at the empty door frame. Like the table, any signs of damage were gone. All of the remaining shards of glass had been cleared from the frame and collected off of the floor. With the shards cleared away, the empty frame made it look undamaged. That was, until a breeze began to blow through the opening.

"You sure you don't want a tarp or something to help cover that up?" the man asked Sky.

"It's fine," Sky shook his head.

"Alright, then," the man and the human Machamp turned to leave, "let us know if you need anything else." Before he was gone completely, he added one more thing: "And good luck in the tournament, Mr. Emerald."

The door latched shut, leaving Sky alone.

The tournament. Pokémon. That was something he did. Something he had done for half of his life. And where did it lead him? To a hotel room in the middle of nowhere while everyone he ever cared about hated him.

He walked to the empty door frame. Remembering the cut on his thumb, he looked down at the Band-Aid. Flurry had insisted on it. Just like the hotel staff, she had wrapped up his thumb in an effort to put order back into the world. The splinters, the shards of glass and his bleeding thumb disrupted that order. They had to put it back to feel better. So that they could feel like they were doing a good job.

But Sky didn't feel any better. Cleaning the room and paying the bills were just motions he had to go through. They didn't solve anything.

Wincing as the adhesive pulled at his skin, Sky pulled the Band-Aid off of his thumb. The cut wasn't deep and was already starting to heal. Once it had healed and the door was replaced, then all of the damage that Tempest had done would be gone. As if she had never been there.

_You're talking about her like she's dead, you moron_, Sky thought at himself, _a bit over-dramatic, don't you think?_

Okay, he had to admit that. Tempest wasn't gone forever, but it felt like she was never coming back. There was so much hatred in her voice. Sky had seen her go half-insane with bloodlust, but somehow this hurt even more. She meant what she said and she hated him.

Tempest, the only one who believed in him, didn't believe anymore. How could he have hurt her so badly? How could he let himself do something so terrible?

A knock on the door brought Sky out of his thoughts.

How much time had passed? What day was it?

The knock came again.

"Uh…coming…" Sky put a hand to his head.

The person at the door was not someone he wanted to see. He almost let the door close again, but he noticed Claire standing by her father's side.

"What Silph?" Sky groaned.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked.

"Yes," Sky nodded, "but I don't think any good ones are coming up soon. So just tell me what you want."

"I need to talk to you."

"We're talking now."

"I need your help."

"With what?" Sky asked, "Pitfall's already helping to repair the field. You need more maintenance workers, or something?"

"There's been a murder."

"O-kay. That's not really my area…"

"A human Pokémon murder."

"Alright," Sky stepped back from the doorway to let Silph inside, "you have my attention."

"Thank you," Silph nodded. He took Claire's hand and entered the room.

_Do you always bring your daughter along when you talk about murder?_ Sky thought.

"Your door's broken," Claire pointed across the room.

"It's nice to see you too, Claire," Sky muttered.

"Shouldn't you fix that?" she asked, missing his statement.

"Somebody's working on it," Sky said, loud enough for her to hear him, this time.

"What happened?" she asked, curious for details.

Sky sighed. Quite naturally, the less he wanted to talk about something, the more the small Skitty-girl wanted to know more.

"Tempest and I…had a fight," he admitted. He did his best to ignore how Silph's eyes widened with interest. "We…had an argument about RiverofTears and…Tempest got mad at me."

"She broke it?" Claire asked. She only asked out of curiosity. She wanted to solve the puzzle of how the door was broken. It didn't matter why.

"Yeah, she did," Sky nodded, "she yelled at me and…left."

"She yelled at you?" she asked. Getting yelled at was bad. She knew that much.

"Yeah…" Sky admitted, "I…did something to make her mad. Now I don't know what to do next."

"Did you say you're sorry?"

Sky thought back. Had he? Everything had happened so fast, he might not have said anything.

"You should say you're sorry," Claire declared, "that usually helps."

"Right…" Sky agreed. Though he doubted it would be enough.

"Claire, why don't you go watch some TV for a little while?" Silph suggested, "I need to talk to PureBlueSky about something important."

"Okay," Claire agreed. She trotted over to the couch, found the remote and began searching for a cartoon channel.

"Let's go into the other room," Silph directed.

"Fair enough," Sky shrugged. He wondered what Silph could want. There wasn't much he could do to solve a murder. Still, he had never heard of a human Pokémon murder before. More than anything he was curious just to hear details.

Silph led the way back into the bedroom. Once inside, he let Sky walk further in while he remained by the door. He frequently looked back into the living room to check on Claire.

"How have you been?" Silph asked. The last time he had visited PureBlueSky was shortly after the tournament began. He had reserved two other suites for Aurum and EdgeoftheEarth, but Silph had yet to set eyes on them outside of their matches. Compared to them, PureBlueSky was incredibly easy to track down. If he needed their help, it was PureBlueSky he visited first.

Sky didn't answer with words. Instead he spread his arms and looked downward, gesturing to himself.

"You look terrible," Silph observed, trying to keep his voice passive, "how long has Tempest been gone?"

Sky thought about it. "A day," he answered.

Silph nodded. If Claire ever had a fight with him and ran away, he would feel exactly the same. He knew the bond between trainer and human Pokémon was strong, but…this was stronger. He wondered if Sky knew the reason.

"Would you mind hurrying up a bit?" Sky asked as he slumped into the desk chair.

"Of course," Silph agreed, "we've already started an investigation. The victim was a Meganium-woman, in her early twenties. Very pretty."

Sky began absently staring at the wall.

"A human Absol, Ninjask and their mutual trainer brought the body into the Pokémon Center," Silph went on, "one of the nurses was able to tell that she had been attacked with a combination of Dazzling Gleam and Psychic. So, we've been moving forward using that information."

"How exactly?" Sky asked, without moving his gaze from the wall.

"Well, uh…" Silph stumbled. He hadn't realized Sky was still paying attention, "we're compiling a list of Pokémon that could know both attacks. From there, we'll begin questioning trainers who possess human Pokémon that-"

"What if there was more than one attacker?" Sky interjected.

"It's a possibility," Silph admitted, "we're considering every scenario."

"Uh-huh…" Sky nodded, still disinterested, "and who's in charge of it all?"

"Davis," Silph answered, "I believe you've met him."

"Once or twice," Sky searched his memory, "I'm pretty sure he was an asshole."

"We could use your help," Silph ignored the comment, "nothing like this has ever happened before. These people need to know that they're safe. I don't want to put the entire tournament on lockdown, but if I have to, I will."

Sky doubted that. The tournament was Silph's pet. The only thing he loved more was Claire, and Sky was willing to bet that it existed for her. Without it, the Skitty-girl had no future. She'd just be Silph's strange, illegitimate daughter that he hid from the world. He would not stop the tournament for anything.

Of course, even out of the corner of his eye, Sky had noticed Silph check on Claire twice more since leaving her alone. The man was scared. That could be enough to change his mind.

"What do you expect me to do?" Sky asked him.

"I just want your cooperation," Silph told him, "nothing too demanding or strenuous. No heroics. Just meet with Davis and help however you can. It will help ease tension just knowing that you're helping."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sky asked. How could his mere presence help?

"Sky," Silph shrugged, "like it or not, but you, River, Edge, and Aurum are all celebrities to these people. Whatever you do, they'll follow. They just need a leader to show them the way."

_They'll be very disappointed_, Sky thought. He was neither a hero nor a leader. He was just a boy who trained Pokémon.

_YOU RAN_! Tempest's scream echoed in his head, _YOU RAN AWAY AGAIN! All you do is hide and run and pity yourself and hope that everything will go back! Well it won't go back if you just sit here and rot!_

"Are you alright?" Silph asked. Sky had shut his eyes and begun shaking.

_This is why your only friends are Pokémon._

PureBlueSky's mind raced through ideas.

This was exactly what Tempest was talking about. Times like this when he could make a difference, but chose not to. Was Silph right? Would merely having the champion standing by help people be at ease? He still didn't see how it was possible, but what if it was?

The last thing Himitsu Island needed was for over three hundred human Pokémon to start panicking. Silph and his workers were the law here, but their hold was tenuous. They relied on the civility of the people to keep things running smoothly. If Sky could help to keep people calm, then why shouldn't he?

And what if he could do more?

He thought back to before Tempest had left; back to when Quickstep had brought a Leafeon-girl to his doorstep. If Team Deus were the ones responsible, then what if he had been able to stop it from happening? Could he have saved that woman's life? How many lives were at risk if they were ready to do something as bold as attack people in broad daylight? What could he do against people like that?

The weight of it was overwhelming. He had no idea how to be that. He couldn't be a champion for those people.

_YOU RAN AWAY AGAIN!_

"Dammit…" Sky cursed under his breath, _what do I do_? He was too weak.

_You're stronger than you think. You beat yourself up and say you're not good enough, but there's more to it than that_, he remembered something else that Tempest had said, when her faith was still strong. _You want to be better. You want to prove to yourself that you're good enough._

She was right. He wanted to be stronger. He wanted Tempest to come back. He wanted her to believe in him again.

"I'll…come back later," Silph said warily. Sky had been shaking and muttering to himself for almost a full minute.

"No," he suddenly sat up and looked at Silph, "I'm fine. I'll do it."

"You're sure?" Silph asked. His request was a simple one, but he expected PureBlueSky to refuse.

"Yes," Sky nodded, "I need to find Flurry and…Quickstep, maybe…but I'll do it."

"Glad to hear it," Silph smiled, "I'll let Davis know you're coming."

Sky nodded his understanding. It would be a small start, hardly anything that would make Tempest proud, but it was something.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to take care of," Silph turned and left the room, "come on, Kitten. It's time to go."

"Aww…" Claire's tiny voice drifted from the other room, "five more minutes! This show's almost over."

"Alright, alright, five more minutes," Silph conceded, "but not one second longer."

"Yay!"

Sky leaned back in his chair. He could feel it. It was time to start doing something. He just wished he knew what that was.

* * *

><p>"I guess…" Lily spoke barely louder than a whisper, "we'll have to…take her home." She rubbed her hands over an empty Pokéball.<p>

"Yeah," Silver said quickly.

"We'll need to leave…"

"Yeah."

"Is there…" Lily thought, "Someplace…special? Somewhere she'd…"

"Lilycove," Silver answered, "she liked the sea breeze. There're some cliffs overlooking the ocean there."

"Okay," Lily nodded agreement, "then we'll take her there."

"Yeah."

The two were silent for a few minutes. Shinobi was with them, but he hadn't said a word since they had found Aroma's body.

They waited in their hotel room. Though they had no idea what they were waiting for. The nurses and several different security guards had asked them a series of questions before finally letting them go. On the way back, a few passersby looked at them strangely, recognizing who they were. Word was spreading.

_Psychic and Dazzling Gleam_, Silver reminded himself, _Psychic and Dazzling Gleam_. How many Pokémon could know that combination? Who was it? Who was it that attacked Aroma?

"She would never go off on her own, like that," Silver muttered as he wrung his hands, "she knew how dangerous it was. She never would have done that."

"W-What are you-?"

"She was forced to," Silver nodded, "yeah…something _made_ her go out there by herself. They used Psychic…can psychics do that?" He wasn't sure, but he was ready to believe it. "Then he was a psychic-type. He didn't just _use_ Psychic, he _is_ psychic! He was a psychic that used Dazzling Gleam…yeah…Psychic and Dazzling Gleam…"

"Silver?" Lily asked.

"It had to be them," Silver continued muttering, "Nobody else would've done something like that. She was sweet. She was nice. Why the hell did they…?"

He started to shake and cry all over again.

"Silver," Lily started again, "I think we should tell them…"

"Tell them what?!" Silver snapped at her, "that there's a secret lab right underneath their feet and they're too stupid to notice?! They'll think we're crazy!"

"A-Aroma's…" Lily almost started to cry again, but she bit her lip to stop herself, "she's gone. We have to try. We can't do anything alone."

"And you think they can?!"

"I don't know!" Lily couldn't hold back any longer, "I just want to take her home and feel safe again! What if they come after us?! I don't want you to die, too!"

"Fine, you can take her to Lilycove," Silver spat, "but I'm staying. I'll bury that whole place myself, if I have to!" Overcome with rage, he stood up and strode towards the door.

"Silver! No!" Lily called.

He ignored her.

Silently, Shinobi appeared to block his path.

"This again?" Silver sighed, "Move. Now."

The human-Ninjask said nothing.

"Oh, look at this," Silver scoffed, "can't say anything? Too shocked, like we are? Maybe you really do have some actual emotions stuffed in there somewhere. What's wrong? Can't even tell me what your orders are?"

"Stay here," Shinobi finally said, "Rest. Think."

"That's more like it," Silver sneered, "now, move. You can't stop me."

"I can and I will," Shinobi told him, "if I don't, you will die. Stay here. Rest. Think."

"Damn you!" Silver shouted, "I said 'move!'" He pulled his arm back and drew out his claws, preparing a Night Slash.

A moment later, he was on the floor. Blood seeped out of his chest where Shinobi must have hit him with X-Scissor. He was still awake, but the pain was too much. He wouldn't be going anywhere. Shinobi just saved his life.

_Psychic and Dazzling Gleam_, Silver reminded himself. It wouldn't be the same day, but he swore on Aroma's unfinished grave that he would find whoever killed her and rip his throat out.

* * *

><p>AN: another long absence…<p>

I've actually been working on a few short-story projects. I submitted two, but it'll be a while before I hear back. I might tell you guys if anything actually gets published, but I'd prefer to avoid shameless self-promotion. Particularly on a fan fiction that I write for fun and practice…

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Sky's finally starting to come around and Silver's ready to get some revenge. Mark and Maple will return next time.

Until then, thanks for reading!


End file.
